


Never Strikes Twice

by SpontaneousFork



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Creeper, Gen, Horror, Mutant, Scary, Story, Zombie, endermen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-12
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-11-16 04:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 49,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpontaneousFork/pseuds/SpontaneousFork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nyssa a young Albino Enderman has never been the sweetest around but when her behaviour becomes downright scary a group of mismatched friends head off to stop her horror filled rampage.</p>
<p>Not all characters are mine! I used other people's MC-characters too with their permission!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just another day

Mornings were never truly crisp and fresh.  
This story takes place in a cuboidal land with structures and landscapes made up of blocks. the creatures who inhabited it fit in with the blocky style, yet none of it looked like a bad fantasy. The mornings there should have seemed crisp and fresh. The clear skies and beautiful grassy landscape dotted with flowers relaxed and soothed a person just by looking pretty. But the beautiful visage was spoiled by towering infernos of Skeletons and Zombies, hissing and howling as they heaved their mangled, burning bodies to shade. Warm morning sunlight ignited their sensitive bodies, and smoke filled the air with the foul dust and ash left behind as they wasted away into nothingness.

Down by the forest laid a dead-end cave, overshadowed by a large tree with a house in it. Only the tree-dwellers were awake this early. One, and Enderling with a genetic fault, covered a branch like a furry matress waiting for the burning of the creatures to end. Unlike most of his species, which had charcoal skin that let them blend in with the shadows like demonic spectres, he was covered in grey fur. He was also short for his species, but since he was rather young, that wasn't so surprising. His name was Kenzo, the fluffy Enderling. Smart and gentle, and dubbed by miners as a Minecraftian yeti of all things. He didn't mind the nickname, though, as he didn't have a much better idea of who he was anyway. A wandering Zombie heaved itself under the tree where the shade protected it from the sun's rays. It exhaled dust as it's body smoked and crisped. An assured whistle and thwunk sounded as an arrow pierced the Zombie's head, and it gurgled once before dying and melting into chunks of rotted meat. Kenzo arched his back and swung his head round to greet the owner of the flint headed arrow, his unofficial roommate of sorts, Nyssa. She was an Enderling just as unusual as Kenzo in terms of appearance, with milky-white skin the polar opposite of the majority of her kind. She was albino, aside from her eyes which were green rather than the classic red color found in other cases of albinism. Gold armored pants hung loosely from her wiry frame, contrasting Kenzo's yellow eyes and average frame increased by fluff. Kenzo waved his tail irritably as Nyssa grunted, rolled over the fence and skimmed down the outside of the tree before redeeming two slabs of dripping flesh.  
"You reallys want to eats that?" Kenzo spoke. He could speak perfectly well, yet had a strange quirk to the way he said things. Almost like a foreign person speaking a new language for the first time.  
"So? What's wrong with Zombie flesh? The more you eat the more you build a tolerance of it! Wuss." Nyssa grunted in return. What she said was true, as she could eat the chunks of rotting meat left behind by those walking cadavers as if they were cooked pork. A gross habit, Kenzo thought as the foul smell threw him right off. Watching Nyssa sink her teeth into the foul flesh was even grosser! She was anything but lady-like, which was rather unnerving for him. Any excessive violence was generally unnerving for him, so Nyssa was by far the worst flat mate option for him.

"What gories and unnescessaries venture are yous on todays?" He asked, hoping it would be something far away from him. He had recently come in possession of a massive quantity of TNT and had been 'dared' to make a Redstone activated cannon with it by the person who left it to him. Something he had not tried before, but he was certain he could try it out.  
"I am going to go hunt a Slime" she murmured, sliding a light blue diamond sword into a scruffy homemade leather scabbard. "I have some ideas for a new weapon I could make with their slime." She grinned absent-mindedly, twiddling with one of her own recent possessions also left to her from an anonymous miner or something. It was nothing special, just a blue bead on a thin string. But the note left with it told of electrical powers held within. Nyssa had not yet mastered it, but refused to take the tacky thing off, adamant that it had a use and she was going to control it. She'd believe anything if it were what she wanted.  
"Excellents!" Kenzo beamed happily. She ignored the sudden joyful yell. Either way, she'd be below ground and he above, with no interruptions! Happily, Kenzo went down the tree using the branches as stepping stones as Nyssa slid down the ladders like they were a pole. Kenzo watched from under his mop of hair as she continued ignoring him and traveled away with a couple of torches in hand while kicking the ground to leave a small trail of grass-less dirt to document the directions she most commonly took. As the golden glimmer of her armor pants vanished, Kenzo knew it was his day now. He grinned, his single jutting fang looked less dopey accompanied by other teeth, and ran towards the neighboring cave.

"Hey, hey! Wakes up!" Kenzo barreled in, tail quivering with excitement, into his neighbors cave. The adults didn't wake as early as he and Nyssa did, but Kenzo couldn't make a cannon alone and couldn't wait until they woke up. Kenzo went for the easier and safer of the two to wake first, an Enderman named Lanky. He grabbed at the sleeping Enderman's characteristic long blue scarf and yanked hard. It was a stupidly long scarf, but it'd work well as a waking device. He pulled at the older Enderman until he rolled onto his back.  
"Nuh, dhun waek me urp" Lanky swung his claws over his face and turned away.  
"Does everyones turns this lazies when teenagers? Or justs you? Wake up!", Kenzo shouted.  
"Oh Notch, do you have to wake me up? What do you want, Kenzo?" He blinked at Kenzo with bleary eyes. The scarf, now wrapped around his face twitched only slightly to give away that he was talking. Not enough for this kid.  
"Come oooonns! I needs helps with stuffs!"  
"You're almost a adult yourself Kenzo! And smart. Do you really need my help?"  
"Yeees! What If I needs more Redstones? Yous only Endersman that can get ores rounds here! Ands! Ands! Twice as many peoples twice works done!"  
"Mnn Work? What work?" Lanky pulled himself up into a seated position and arched his back in a stretch  
"I has new projects I need helps workings on!" Kenzo jumped up and down, wagging his tail like a excited wolf hound. Lanky sighed and rubbed his brow. "Youngsters as neighbors…" he thought, "Always a bit of a nuisance."  
"Fine right." he finally spoke aloud "You want me to get you ores, how many are you after?"  
"Wells I don'ts know! Depends on whats useds rights?" Lanky pushed himself upright and looked down on the kid.  
"What are you even building this time?"  
"Yes, wells I got givens a challenge you know, and it saids to builds big TNT cannon!"  
"Oh, right! I'm not helping with that!" Lanky put his claws up "With something like that around, and certain dangerous loonies of our acquaintance, that's not your best plan yet!"  
"Of course I knows that! Is why I made certains she is downs in mineshafts today! And, wells, I do needs helps from someones who knows what do with TNTs..." he shyly smiled. They both shared glances to the other side of the cave at their Creeper friend "You knows hows to wake Creepers safely no?"  
"Nope. Well, kinda. I..." Lanky thought for a second "I can force him out".

Thundt.  
A block of TNT was pushed over. Thundt. And again. The sour Creeper pushed it over with one of his four legs.  
"Doesn't helmets get hots and bothersomes?" Kenzo peered at the creeper as he moved another block of TNT. Creeps looked up from the block and gave Kenzo a hollow glare. He seemed to have no eyes in his sockets, only glowing red pupils  
"No!" he snapped. "and in future I would prefer NOT to be woken in the maws of a slobbering beast!"  
"Buts we no knows how is corrects way of waking Creepers without explosions happenings"  
"I'll give you a hint. It DOES NOT INVOLVE FREAKING DRAGONS!" he shrieked before rolling the TNT cube away in a huff. Unfortunately, he was the only one of them who knew how to work TNT safely, so his bad attitude had to be looked over as best as possible. Kenzo wondered why he ever decided to move here. Never before had he moved somewhere, only to gain a single friend and two sour, angry neighbors. On the bright side, however, a Creeper doesn't go about slaughtering animals and eating their flesh without cleaning up afterwards.


	2. Pigs Heads

Lanky moved dirt and piled stone next to a couple of complementary redstone ores.  
Creeps piled up the TNT and Kenzo arranged it all. If his calculations were correct, this cannon could launch timed and primed TNT over the forest and to the feet of the next mountain, hopefully not disturbing much of the scenery other than the small craters. If anything, doing this to a mountain would be helpful in revealing ores that could've been hidden.  
A couple of Switches later and the air should be filled with the exploding cubes.  
"I don't see why we couldn't have at least aimed it near some place with people in!" The creeper protested at having his 'griefing' time wasted "If we did that we could at least cause a little more havoc!"  
"But what if we hit someone?" Lanky counteracted  
"Stuff respawns doesn't it?" he responded  
"Teensagers" Kenzo interrupted with a sigh. Crouching down, he picked up the ends of two wires before placing them together. "Nows all thats needed is the grands switch pullings! Then inventions be complete and then I can experiments on new ventures!" he grinned at creeps and lanky, and they looked at the lever. They did nothing. With a small frown at their non-existent response, he tugged at the lever with his tail. A jolt of light sped through the wires and a redstone receiver ticked to the timing Kenzo had programmed. Pistons moved and swung to the clicks and the redstone set off the fuse. Cubes flashed as the explosives began reacting and the secondary set of wires activated. Finally, the flashing blocks were flung far out of view.  
"Success!" He cheered looking back. Only Creeps watched, while Lanky hid behind a rock. "Eeh, why you hides behind rocks?"  
"Hmn Oh, it didn't backfire?" Lanky peered over the edge "No! Of course it wouldn't, I don't doubt your abilities!" He trailed off into a small mumble. Kenzo frowned a little. He made all the right calculations, so there was no chance of backfiring. The mechanisms clicked again and another block was flung. Distant rumbles were the only way of knowing if they had worked. After four more blocks, the machine was out of ammunition.  
"So what now?" Creeps looked at Kenzo. The sun had already passed midday.  
"Wells uh, you could always go off and do teenagers stuff..." Kenzo shrugged  
"Teenager stuff? Are you serious?"  
"Well why nots? Its stuff you teenagers do for well funs right?"  
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?"  
"Yes teenager things right?" his expression was dead pan. Creeps sighed and rolled his legs in the closest thing to a shrug an armless creature could perform before trotting off into the forest.  
"Well I'm going to go see the damage done. If it's any good, I might employ this cannon for future services!"  
"Well I don'ts want this thing to be hurtfuls" Kenzo whined back. Lanky didn't say a word, but followed his friend. Cregg trailed behind; only the sound of the TNT going off managed to wake him back up after he was used to wake up Creeps. The oddball dragon turned back to look at Kenzo, only returning to his carefree bounds once the child began to follow them, too.  
Down by the edge of the forest, small pink pigs meandered about like a food parade. For a dragon, anyway. The dopey creature slid away from the group to peruse the meaty offerings. If he had waited, a much easier and grizzlier meal awaited. Creeps leaped back at the repugnant smell coming from a crater obviously made by TNT. Pieces of pig flesh and a couple of hands lay scattered, with the pig's head half burnt and half flesh-less, but twisted as it's face had flattened and tusks grew from its jaws. It was a Zombie Pigman from the hellish Nether, splattered across a crater by explosives. Lanky screamed.  
"WHAT IN NOTCHES NAME IS THAT!" He buried himself further into his scarf, refusing to look at the gory mess  
"It appears that the TNT cannon made short work of this fellow unlucky enough to come to the Overworld today" Creeps tentatively peered over the edge  
"Oh god we killed something!" He squealed as Kenzo caught up with them. He also skidded to a halt, deterred by the smell.  
"Geez what animals smells likes that when deads!" He coughed.  
"A Zombie Pigman-thing" Creeps gestured to him. Kenzo immediately relaxed and inched closer  
"Oh so it was alreadys dead?"  
"Well yeah, I guess..."  
"So, um, Whats to do with body?"  
"We'll leave it" Said Creeps  
"What! You can't leave t-that here!" Lanky yelled halfway through making a mock (hopefully) retching sound.  
"Why nots? It makes sense as its decompositions will give foods for plants and things" Kenzo explained.  
"And I think it will make a perfect meal!" she butted in  
"Wells you're just a gross-" Kenzo was about to snap back before he suddenly jumped up "Ah Nyssa W-we thoughts you go hunting for slimeys"  
Nyssa looked at them from across the crater covered in dust and dirt, cradling a burnt black ball in her hand. Silently, she dropped the ball and it's outer shell cracked open. It was a slime ball, but it had been burnt up.  
"I was, until some idiot set off TNT! Caused a cave-in and I dropped the slime ball in a fire!" She yelled more at the forest than at any one in particular "Bloody trapped me in there for Jeb's sake!"  
"Umn if you were trapped in there how did you get out?" Lanky whispered. In truth, the small girl frightened him a bit and he avoided eye contact with her. Luckily, this meant he couldn't see the all-too-malevolent grin seep across her face.  
"Well, turns out this little blue bead can be quite powerful!" She grinned wider and looked at the pigman's remains "looks like a pig got caught in the blast on the other side"  
It was common knowledge that the pigs in minecraftia mutated into pigmen when struck by lightning, after which their bodies immediately decayed and they wondered like zombies. Very creepy, especially if you're seeing it for the first time. Kenzo backed off.  
"Eeh, wells good for yous" he shuffled on the spot before looking upwards "Oh heys it's almost night times" He stretched out "Best be getting sleeps time right?" he looked at Creeps and Lanky for a little back-up  
"Oh yes we've all been very busy today" Lanky began  
"Yeah well you wusses can go off for some precious sleep, The night is only just begging and I can see some excellent opportunities for hunting!" she butted in before disappearing in plume of green smoke in a angry fashion. True to his word, Kenzo didn't look back and headed back home.

Mornings were never crisp.  
The usual smell of burning flesh soaked the air.  
And just general blood. Kenzo wrinkled his face up upon waking. It smelt terrible.  
A stretch and a grooming later, he was ready to face the morning. And pigs. Many many pigs. Pig heads were mounted on sticks with the half-decomposed head of the Pigman stuck front and centre.  
You can understand the first thing that eeked out of his mouth was a terrified scream. Panicked, he let yellow smokey particles out as he teleported backwards. Kicking at the mud, he tryed again but with no control of direction he began freaking out and popping up in random directions and places. Eventually, he managed to run into Cregg. Who's sensitive hearing alerted him to the commotion and prompted him to come investigate. He looked down at Kenzo. Or at least thereabout, as his eyes being crossed always made it a little harder to know if he was looking at you or at something next to you. Kenzo quickly sprung to the dragon and stood next to him, as if the dopey beast would provide protection and safety. Cregg, however, lept down to the gory display and tore a pigs head right off it's stick and ate it like a treat. Kenzo couldn't help but squeal at the bloody act. With the Ocelots, Kenzo had always been taught to run from danger, but this was right at his front door. He half yelped, half screamed as a hand clasped his shoulder.  
"Kenzo, Holy Nether what the heck happened!" Lanky kneeled down next to the little kid and gently rubbed at his fluffy shoulders "Your screaming woke us up. Really, what happened?" Kenzo didn't respond much, but quickly turned and buried his face into Lanky's chest. Without much choice, Lanky caved in to the startled youngster's plea and wrapped him up in his long claws, settling the youngster down and calming his shivers.  
Creeps sidled up next to the two Endermen and looked down "By Notch! Our front yard's been turned into a graveyard!" Lanky looked down to the grassy 'yard', winced and pulled his face further into his scarf.  
"Oh my Notch..." he gulped. "No wonder the kid was scared as heck."  
"You may not want to look up either" Creeps muttered.


	3. Tree of Death

By the light of day, the largest tree on the outskirts of the forest showed the full extent of its morbid decor.  
Spiders string was tied round the branches hanging up zombie heads each had their hair decorated with chicken feathers.  
Creeps shivvered at the sight and lanky clasped his hand to his non-visible mouth groaning.  
Chunks of meat rotten or not lay strewn between the morbid decorations hailing a dark cloud of flies feeding and breeding. A few of the rotten chunks already bore maggots. Cregg bounded back having shoved a good slab of beef into his mouth, looking at him then back out both Lanky and Creeps stared closer at the tree, leather and been stapled to the outside of the tree covering most of it, even the doorway to the ladders was covered by the skins. It smelt terribe. Only flies seemed to be in the area every other animal must've been scared off by it. They didn't blame them.  
"We've got to sort this out" Lanky stood up, all present turned to look up at him, looking back down Lanky nudged at Creeps. Understanding Creeps rolled his eyes  
"Oh Notch..." he hissed and went down first. Leading the pack he enjoyed being the first to penetrate the aura of foulness surrounding the area. The zombie heads hanging from the tree were creepy but oddly enough it was the pigs heads that scared him more, their slack jaws filled with red gooey bubbles commanded the legions of flies swarming around available orifaces.  
"Right then I'll check on the inside you two whimps can stay out here and look around" Creeps began nudging the hanging peices of leather aside to reach the ladders. It was bizare to watch him climb them, he could do it just about but he had to bite each rung to get a good hold then use his legs. Kenzo and Lanky shared a look af fear and confusion. Yes fresh meat and new kills wern't uncommon around here, but Cregg normally finished them off before they began to smell like this. Besides Nyssa could be crude and cruel sometimes but she always cleared up after herself! This was disturbing. Slowly the two Enders inched away from each other and began looking around the speared heads for any sign why this was going on. Lanky kept looking up avoiding the pigs vacant gaze and peered through flies to see if anything was going on up in the branches. Kenzo looked to the floor also avoiding eye contact with the decapitated heads, it was rougher for him, he was eye level with them after all.  
"Good day to you"  
Kenzo froze. The urge to scream rose in his throat like a silverfish feeling its way through a tunnel. His lips quivered and his hands trembled.  
"I said good day you ignorant twit!"  
Kenzo turned keeping his eyes shut before slowly forcing them open. The half-fleshless face of the Pigman looked back at him with deep hollow eyes filled with the tiny eyes of flies all of which seemed to be following him  
"A-are yous talk-kings t-to mes?" he whispered hoarsly.  
"Well who else would I be talking to you foolish boy"  
"W-w-ww-why?"  
"Stupid arn't you?"  
Kenzo whined "B-but who, who are you?"  
"I am in the pearl of every Ender!" it began to giggle becoming all too child-like. Kenzo felt his knees go weak. He finally screamed as the Pigmans mouth stretched wide belching out flies as the head rose above him swaying before slamming back down.  
"HAH! I got you!" The Pigmans empty eyes now turned green and looked back at him with more life.  
"Kenzo! Kenzo! are you alright!" Lanky rushed over and grabbed onto the kids shoulders but not before skidding in the spot and twisting away with a yelp "Oh holy Notch! What the Nether!"  
Despite having four legs Creepers wern't as stable as you thought and with the commotion Creeps lost his grip and fell back down to the group.  
Nyssa watched them all. Wearing the Pigmans head as a helmet her smile transferred onto what was left of the pig-things face, a large crack went down the back of her golden leggings and her brown gloves had turned maroon with fluids better not described. She stood almost proud, like a horrid scarecrow or a movie reject.  
"So" She smirked "What do you all think of my catch? Such a successful night!"  
"What the Nethers do you thinks you are doings!" Kenzo shrieked "I thoughts it was stupids PigsZombies head talkings to me!"  
"Well that was stupid of you! Since when have you ever had a Pigman talk to you?" She laughed, Kenzo struggled a bit looking back it was a little stupid of him, but could you blame him? He shuffled about in his fur as she playfully waved away at the flies who attempted to regain their place upon the pigmans head. Creeps carefully swerved round her in a arc taking the mad spectacle  
"Uhm, Is this part of your 'growing up'?" He hissed "I mean you are about a year or two away from your teens" He waved a paw at the kid.  
"Creeps! That's hardly a thing to be coming from you!" Lanky's prudish nature overtook his fear for a few moments as he berated his friend "That type of thing should be taught to them by an adult! Besides I never acted like that!"  
"Because you kept skulking away to the Ender during that time I had no idea what the hell was going on!" The two older mobs began a small argument briefly snapping at each other. Left 'alone' Kenzo did his best to avoid eye contact, his nerves amused Nyssa she laughed lightly before twirling on the spot letting greenish flicks of blood-like ooze fly out, all part of the gory dance routine she gleefully played out oblivious to the fear and utter madness she exuded.


	4. A New house

Kenzo backed off into Creeps and Lanky, gesturing he pulled them back too.

All three looked over. Nyssa was dancing, she almost appeared feminine if it weren't for the zombie-helmet still oozing some sickly fluid over her shoulders.

"I'm worried. Not my normal Worry this is a real concern" Lanky mumbled, trembling a little in case their conversation topic would overhear them.

"Normally I hate your constant worrying over most things but this is a concern" The Creeper rubbed his paws together

"Can I lives with you twos? At least for tonights..." Kenzo whined

"Of course, of course" Lanky wrapped one long arm around the youngling, Creeps looked at them both with a concerned frown before turning it into a smile.

"Wait a minute! We're over reacting here! Maybe she just drank fermented pumpkin juice again! Or or it's, urm, her idea of putting leftover material to use"  
"She must've been drinkings lots of pumpkins juice to be this ways"

"You raise a point, people can be unpredictable when intoxicated"

"Wait wait wait, she is leavings fresh meats outside for flies to feasts on, she never does that!" Kenzo interrupted

"So Intoxication it must be then!"

"Um, Can I still stays with you guys for tonights at least" Kenzo clicked his claws together shyly

"Of course! We won't mind!" Lanky nudged Creeps who nodded. Advancing Nyssa closed in on the trio.

"Are you all hiding from me?" She laughed the pigman's ear flopped about lamely, calmer and more reserved but still sickened by the helmet Lanky perked up

"Well, urm, the head is starting to smell a little"

"Aww don't like the smell of blood do we?" She smiled

"Well I don't!" Creeps snapped before stalking away leaving the Endermen to each other.  
"But you both eat meat. Yet you're scared of it! Scared of death!" She giggled more. Kenzo coughed uncomfortably.

"Yes wells I plan nots to face Death untils I'm goods and readys" Kenzo smiled trying to mask his feelings.

"Hmph! When you face death once and walk away, it ain't so scary!" she cooed in return

"Well go home Nyssa you should have a rest! You've had a busy night!" Lanky did his best to take control of the situation

"Rest! Why would I want to do that! I feel alive! I can hear blood! Taste it on the wind!" She began dancing more, luckily most of the loose fluids of the zombie pig's head had already been flung off. Kenzo shared a look with Lanky.

"Ahem. Well there'll be more, urm, prey for you later, a nap will help you conserve energy!" Lanky spoke. Nyssa looked at him, he was older then her maybe he knew what he was talking about. No no he didn't, how would he know, he wouldn't. Nyssa snarled before turning it to a smirk

"Wanna watch me make more Zombies!" she smiled her green eyes obtaining a gleam of glee and she grabbed at her necklace

"No no! It's quite alrights!" Kenzo smiled nervously

"No it's not! You're the one who doubted it would work! I should show you!" She took a step towards him. However before she could do anything Lanky intervened and pushed them apart. Nyssa switched her gaze from one to the other before finally prizing the Zombie Pigman's head off her own and wiped away the residue ooze and stalking off, flinging away the strips of leather covering the tree door she vanished.

"See just Pumpkin juice!" Lanky smiled.

T'was a odd sight to see the upright quadruped hunched over a block, a TNT block which it clung onto with it's teeth, The block was half as big as it was and it's little paws shuffled underneath. It would be worth it though, it wouldn't take long before he'd get a reaction out of those strange villagers, if not another few cubes of TNT might do it. He'll get a reaction out of them eventually. Finally dropping the cube, Creeps leaned against the block with a content smile. Boy did he love this. Regaining his breath he began pushing it onwards, before something caught the sly Creepers attention. Something new. A new house had sprung up, not far from a local village. It had a stone roof and wooden walls glass panels allowed light to flow in and allowed any passer by to easily gaze in on the neatly arranged home. The floor was layered in red wool and a ceiling-high bookcase cuddled up to the main window, a bed was nestled in the corner opposite the crafting corner with a single workbench flanked by furnaces and double-wide chests. A splendid house. A Fancy house. The fancy ones are so much more fun to lace with TNT and blow up. But, no, not today, this house will survive the night. It was like a tradition every new structure destroyed by TNT would be a duel effort, Creeps and Lanky had been doing a thing called 'griefing' since they were young, never with true malicious intent, but still it wouldn't be the same without him. Leaving the TNT (After all he had a lot more back home) Creeps scuttled back home to gleefully tell of his plans.

Back at the cave things had remained in a bizarre state. Nyssa had indeed settled down but now brushed up against the leaves like a love-starved kitten. Lanky sat with Kenzo keeping moral support over the frightened child. Nyssa mewled louder and shook some branches keeping her gaze locked on the duo, Lanky and Kenzo only spared glances at her the more they ignored her the more likely she was to go to sleep and then hopefully sleep off whatever was going on. At that moment Creeps ran back thankfully he was calling else they never would've noticed

"Lanky!" he yelled silently scuffling the grass "Hey! Hey!"

"Yeah, what is it?" Lanky looked over to the Creeper who clambered up some rocks towards them.

"Guess what I found!" He grinned plonking himself next to the two Enders

"I give up" Lanky shrugged away

"Hey man you didn't even try to guess!"

"I don't wanna"

"Oh for the love o'-"

"Just tell us Creeps" Lanky sighed

"Ooh fine!" The Creeper shuffled annoyed "I found a new house! Not by any human we know!"

"New mans on the lands" Kenzo meekly tried to join in

"Yeah yeah yeah" Creeps nodded enthusiastically "And I propose our specialized welcome!"

"You want me to put bedrock around the doors and set up TNT?"

"Well that's the less sophisticated manner of speaking but yes"

Kenzo sighed and waved his claws in a defeated fashion before standing up and gravitating over to Creggs general area, maybe fooling around with the dragon will be of more interest to him. Lanky watched him walk away before resuming his conversation.

"Sounds fun, although maybe blowing up his house wouldn't be the best way of introducing ourselves..."

"And? Still fun"

"Yeah that's true!" The two giggled with glee back to their normal 'day job'.

"Hey where did she goes?" Kenzo re appeared next to them.

The giggling ceased and they both looked over to the tree.

Nyssa had gone.


	5. She's gone

She had gone, and with her the conversation.

"Where dos you thinks she wents?" Kenzo rubbed a claw through his fur nervous to her vanishing, she could've gone anywhere.

"Aw man! did she, like, have to vanish now!" Creeps yelled in frustration "We were busy man!"

"I think we might have to put off our plans for a couple of days"

"Aw C'mon Lanks! We don't have to, we all know she can look after herself! Do we really need to!"

"Well we should do!" Lanky counter argued "She's drunk right? So who knows what she'll do! You remember what she did to me!"

"Eeeh, what did she dos to yous?" Kenzo coughed politely, he had not had the same introduction as the others

"Weeell" lanky rolled his purple eyes back thinking

"She kicked him in the head and he screamed at her when he woke up" Creeps finished before Lanky started

"I did not scream!" He hissed back "I... yelled, she startled me"

Kenzo arched his brows and rubbed, tiredly at his head, he ached all over today was certainly different. The distant sound of thunder rumbling caught his attention, the sky had turned a murky grey and the clouds had turned sullen

"Me thinks it's goings to rains" He alerted the others, well Lanky in particular as he shared the same aversion to water as him. Lanky looked up and fiddled with his scarf

"Oh yes that certainly looks like water-weather!" he pushed off and quickly swerved back into his cave-home, a quick shake off and Kenzo leapt in to join him and Cregg tailed along too. Creeps however sighed moodily and plonked himself down

"I have a dirty back" He sniffed waiting for the rain, Kenzo and Lanky looked at each other, then to the huffy Creeper and back, either way he was staying out there.

Another rumble of thunder as the night drew in.

"Why hasn'ts it rainsed yet?" Kenzo interjected, for a while they had all stood silent waiting for the rain to come along. He was right the rain still hadn't come and it was morning time

"Maybe it blew over us" Lanky shrugged looking out it had turned bright again, the day had turned bright and clear few clouds hazed the blue skies. Eagerly Cregg bounded out and spread his wings flying laps around the tree, still decorated with dangling heads.

"It used to be suchs a nice tree to lives in" Kenzo sighed

"Yes well lets see if we can get her to clean it up!" lanky stretched

"Hah!" Creeps threw his head back "You wouldn't do it, I bet you couldn't make her!"

"Yeah! You'd haves to finds her first!" Kenzo agreed, taken back Lanky shuffled on the spot

"Of course we're going to find her, we should do it now"

"Riiight" Creeps stretched a paw out "Right now in the morning with all the Skellies still about yeah you're really going to do that"

"I don'ts see why you're mockings you are 'fraid of the Skellies too!" Kenzo stood up for him

"That's because they're jackasses" He waved his paw about

"Either way we should still find her now!" Lanky butted in before he could go further, and with scarf swooping in the back he flounced off towards the woods, not for dramatic effect but in more of a attempt to appear that way and block off any objections anyone may have had. Shrugging the others followed him, they didn't have anything better to do today, not any more.

Arriving down at where the Pigmans carcass was found, grass had already begun to consume the bare Earth dug up by the explosion. Everyone stopped and stared at it.

"Okay Eagle-eyes Where'd she go?" Creeps jibed

"Uhh..." Lanky stared absent mindedly, Kenzo rolled his eyes and sighed obviously neither of them had a clue what they were doing.

"Well maybes we should lets Cregg goes up into airs to see if he can spots her" finally ceasing the confusion the other two looked at him

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Lanky sprung up

"Great you're relying on the kid to give you such simple ideas" Creeps growled

"Well you nevers thoughts of it" Kenzo smugly snickered at the creeper

"I would've... If I had the time to think it over!" He snapped back quick as a flash.

Ignoring him Lanky knelt down to Cregg and whispered to him his instructions, Cregg stared vacantly his eyes slightly out of focus, betraying any glimmer of intelligence the creature may have possessed, almost shakily Cregg pulled himself up onto his feet shaking his head he rolled his wing joints, flapping them he resembled a cow being pulled up into the air almost as if he wasn't sure why he was even flying himself, quite a worry when you know of the power a Enderdragon may hold as it ages and before you you see a dragon such as this one. It didn't take long for the dragon to weave a curled path out of sight. On the ground the trio left behind didn't have words to say to each other, if anything they were reluctant to actually look for the girl after all she caused trouble left right and centre and her method of greeting a person consisted of being drop-kicked, it was all together safer without her about but the nagging feeling of concern left them wondering about their choices.  
"Eeehh, Creeps didn't yous says about new fellows in area?" Kenzo interrupted the silence  
"Uh? The new house?"  
"Yes I was wonderings if they might have seens her"  
"Dunno seemed pretty abandoned when I found it..."

"Yes wells that was then this is the nows they might have come backs so we could asks them, more peoples helping with searchings right"

Lanky and Creeps nodded, looking at each other they knew the child was much better at methodical thinking than they were so leaving the planning to him would be the better option.

"Wells what are you waiting for? Leads the ways!" Kenzo flapped his hands in a mock-pushing gesture to get him moving

"Alright Alright" He snapped before looking side to side he needed to think, where was the house? which direction? "Uum yes! This way!" he waved a paw and moved off

"Mush mush!" Lanky snickered as Creeps made a odd semi-gallop motion

"Screw you!" he snapped. Kenzo sniffled to hide a snigger at the Creeper, they were certainly entertaining if grumpy.

Creeps led the way chattering as he described the house and it's neat arrangements and cosy interior décor.

"Sounds such a nice house" Lanky sighed, from the description it was too small for him to get in but even still he sounded enamoured with the place and it's cosy charm. If Kenzo had known at least one of them was so amused by comfy living he would've used that to his advantage while attempting to bridge the gap after he moved himself in on their turf.

"Hmmmmmn persons must be backs" Kenzo murmured "I can smells a lovely woodsfire and somethings cookings I thinks!" as he spoke the other two lifted their heads and breathed in the smokey smell of pine and oak burning and both nodded to the smell

"I'd say it smells great" said Creeps "but I always get the fear of Forest fires whenever I smell burning wood..."

"Smells a little like sheep on fire too" Lanky mumbled

"Wait how would you knows what that smells likes?" Kenzo frowned

"I've burnt wool before..."

"The house had a woollen floor..." Creeps interjected absent mindedly

"Wells there is no bleats from sheeps so is house on fires maybe?"

"Wait wait wait!" Creeps suddenly jumped up "Don't look at me! I ain't done anythin' yet!"

"W-we wern'ts talkings about you..." Kenzo murmured with a nervous twitch "Quicks leads the way!"


	6. No more house

In a state of panic the trio ran as fast as Creeps could lead the way, as it turned out the house wasn't too far away from them however the running felt like it went on for an eternity, dusk started to set in and a distant orange glow became visible.

Their fear was confirmed as instead of a neatly decorated house they found a not so neatly decorated crater, remnants of the house crackled and burned.  
"Ooh Notch!" Lanky swore under his breath and scarf  
"You dids this!" Kenzo suddenly yelled, following his gaze Creeps and Lanky spied Nyssa across the burning debris. She responded with nothing. She had decorated herself once more, crimson blood streaked her face and chest, she had spider eyes tied to her string-necklace, and she had draped over her a wolf skin its torn lower half showed it was no work of professionalism as she wore the pelt as a cape. Peering over the flames she studied them  
"I can hear the blood, smell it on the wind like little sparks lighting up the darkest of caves."  
Lanky shuddered and Creeps smiled  
"Of course" He said keeping his voice straight "It must be an excellent feeling!" Nyssa let a creepy little grin wipe across her face.  
"Indeed" She hissed gleefully "It's time to take revenge. Everyone who ever hurt me will pay. All of them. ALL OF THEM!" her voiced turned into a vicious screech as she plucked up a chest from the charred house and fled into the night.  
"Damn..." Creeps muttered "I thought if I pandered to her slightly we could've gotten her to come back!"  
Lanky shuddered "I'm glad she didn't, that was far too creepy!"  
"But nows she gone be creepy to everyones else!" Kenzo whined trailing after her was not how he wished to spend his time and it was getting slowly more and more aggravating.  
"But where could she have gone now?" Creeps rubbed his chin, or at least made a gesture similar  
"Everyones who hurts her she saids. That shouldn't be too hards it's not likes she fights with everyones or something!" Kenzo snorted sarcastically  
"Yeah, doesn't give us much leeway does it" Lanky mumbled "Well maybe we should wait on Cregg to see if he knows where she's gone"  
"Yes that sounds the best idea" Creeps nodded "H-hey what are you doing there boy?" He directed to Kenzo who had padded his way over to the remaining chests, burnt but just about recognizable, peeling the floppy burnt lid back he peered inside  
"Gold ores!" He stated then turned to the next, it was still on fire but he batted it away with a twig before using the twig to open it, the contents were on fire too "Coal" He moved on to the next one "Redstone and Lapis Lazulis in this ones, with a single diamond tucked at the bottom" he plucked the precious gem out showing it's smeared blue frame before tucking it back in again.  
"Everything but Iron" Creeps remarked  
"Do you think that was what was in the chest she took?" Lanky scratched his head  
"Must be" Kenzo remarked rubbing his face, the coal had reignited destroying what was left of the chest, after a while he threw his hands up in the air frustrated "She was always batshits crazy I guess it was just times" and with that he stalked off his tail the last thing seen before he vanished into the forest  
"Wow, what got into him?" Creeps jaw hung open  
"I don't know... I guess he is verging on the teen years..."  
"I hope he doesn't stay that way!"  
"Agreed, one runaway Enderlings is quite enough!"  
There was a pause.  
"Now what?"

Not far from them another person watched, in one hand it held a hastily strewn together stone sword and a near-broken pickaxe. A bag on its back contained stone, sticks and ores traces of which could be seen all over his dirty body. A shaggy red beard defined the broad man as did his smeared red clothes and red shoes, which if anything were the reason he was known as 'Red' by those he met.  
Earlier that evening he had finally broken out of a large network of caves he had found, to be stopped by a creature, the blue blade of the beast slayed a spider in a single swoop before it adorned itself with its eyes; it turned to him with a devilish grin wielding the blade up high. Red had used that moment to craft his measly sword, stone no match for diamond. Luckily it seemed to have lost interest in him and had vanished, thankful Red had sighed about to slip away the faulty sword he realized it was behind him! But once more it jumped away. With his iron. His iron? Seriously? After what seemed like months underground some cretin was going to steal it? Aw Nether no! Taking his sword up again he ran for the beast yelling at the little fuck to slow down so he could chop its hands off with ease. He lost however and the creature vanished as if it had just teleported, yet it did not go forever Red could see occasional flashes of it in the distance; its pale teeth glinted, goading him forwards. He had spent the latter half of the afternoon chasing it only to find where it leads him. All the way back home. His home that was flaming ash and dust, paintings he had traded and collected from villagers twisted and ruined his whole life's work burnt to a crisp.  
That monster had taken it all.  
Left with nothing to truly protect himself with he watched as the two remaining mobs walked away  
Those bastard monsters had ruined his entire life.

"The night has only just began" Creeps remarked "Maybe we could search some more"  
"It's either that or mess about with the villagers again, but now they have those Golems it's pretty darn hard to do that" Lanky murmured.  
"How about your dimwit of a dragon?"  
"Yeah I guess we'd better find Cregg I guess" Creeps rolled his eyes but was cut off before he could open his mouth "We should follow a trail of pigs, he loves pigs we'll be bound to find him!"  
"Fine, lead the way" Creeps followed his Enderfriend off into the forest leaving the charred wreck behind "It won't be of much help to find him; he can't exactly tell us what he's found"  
"I know, I know but I'd feel safer if I did find him" Lanky sighed in return before stopping he mulled something over turning over he bent his slender frame down to Creeps interlocking his long claws around the smaller green thing  
"Oh no! No! No! No! No! I forbid you! Don't you dare!" Creeps panicked as the claws tightened in on him with no hope of him squirming out of their grasp. A whirlwind of noise accompanied a bizarre feeling of one's body being pulled away and your consciousness being dragged behind it before being thrown back into it, utterly unpleasant, Creeps retched, teleporting was not something he was used to nor was it something he hoped to get used to.

"Y-you ass!" He cursed "I-i can't stand teleportation!"  
Lanky nervously shuffled his feet "But it's quicker this way" he muttered.  
Creeps took a few moments in order to compose himself, it was still early night time but now the thin sliver of purple on the horizon had gone, the softness of the ground indicated sand, so they'd ended up in a desert somewhere, quite how Endermen and their teleporting worked he could never figure it out but then again he didn't really want to know.  
"Well now genius where to we find the ever-dim dragon now?" He hissed with a minor headache  
"Simple! I practiced teleporting to him while he was young just in case he ran off and we had to find him again, I felt it would make getting to him a lot easier as-"  
"I didn't ask for an essay dude"  
"Oh... Fine right then!" He looked around the desert searching for any clues between the Cacti  
"Or we could just head over that hill where I can hear a scuffle going on?"  
"Huh?" Lanky snapped out of the search and looked down at Creeps, who looked over to the hill from said general direction the faint sounds of something large rolling about with another large something. Considering that there were next to no Enderdragons in the Overworld there could be little mistaking in its origin. "Fine" Lanky grumbled and Creeps gave a smug smirk. Traversing over the hill the smug smirk turned to a smug smile as he had correctly pinpointed the dragons location, the dark beast tussled with a bone, one end trapped in his toothy jaw the other stuck in the mandibles of a spider the large furry beast gave a tug on the bone and Cregg gave a tug back, Cregg gave it a little shake and the spider reciprocated.  
"Well a fat lot of good he's been! He can fly and we found her quicker!" Creeps snapped, Lanky sighed and put himself between the two, grasping the bone he tried to pull it away  
"Let go" He repeated numerous times trying to pry Creggs jaws off the thing, the spider wasn't exactly joyful at having the bone taken from him either and hissed, Creeps slid over he might as well help it wasn't going to get any better anyway and tried pushing the dragon away but Cregg moaned in protest before launching the Creeper and the Enderman into the air as he suddenly pulled up with the bone, the spider managed to remain clinging to the other end before he was placed back down again no different to when they found them. Groaning a little the duo had been having the worst luck these past days  
"Uggh we might as well leave him here, he can fly back whenever he thinks he can get it through his thick skull!" Creeps snapped  
"Hey hey hey! What's all th' Racket goin' down here fella?" A voice interjected, the spider immediately dropped the bone and scuttled up the small bank behind them with glee "Now Howdy there fellas, I didn't see ya' down there for a moment!" The skeleton owning the voice tipped his hat to them.


	7. I don't think they're gonna help...

Steadying a brown hat and pulling on a red neckerchief, the skeleton looked down on the trio  
"Now I ain't seen you fella's round here before, new lads are we?" He grinned patting the spider with gloved hands; the spider in turn rubbed its head affectionately on the skeletons hips shaking his loose trousers only help up by a belt around his hip bone. Arching one leg forwards he made his way down the bank, A squeal and a zip later Lanky distanced himself from the fellow, The skeleton stopped and stared at him "Now that was a funny thing t'do, I was jus' wondering what's brought you two fellas down here" He cocked his head quizzically  
"Oh urm don't mind him he's kinda afraid of Skeletons" Creeps decided to pull himself up  
"Well I ain't got me bow an' arrows on me if that's what he's worryin' about" He came over to Creeps looking the creeper over "My name's Henk and this here is me buddy Fluffer" he gestured to the spider "Pleased ta' meet'cha Mister..." Henk left his sentence open and his hand out  
"Creeps, just call me Creeps" He didn't accept the outstretched hand, shaking hands wasn't a Creepers speciality "And the moron is Lanky" He nodded his head over to Lanky, hiding behind Cregg, Henk nodded  
"Quite an impressive beast y'have here too, this why ya' came to the desert?"  
"Kinda, that's Cregg we were looking for someone and sent him out for an aerial view"  
"Oh my, I'd only heard of these dragon critters as legend never thought o' seein' one for real" He tipped his hat back looking Cregg over  
"Well, that fella ain't anything of legend, if so he's more the one legend forgot! Unless you heard legends of the derpy dragon"  
"He's not that bad!" Lanky yelled over him, Henk looked a little confused  
"Trust me he is" Creeps whispered as Henk nodded.  
"Now, did y'say you were lookin' for some fella? I can't do anythin' in the day time but sometimes I keep a watch out on the Desert 'ere so I might'a seen them"  
"Uh yeah we were lookin for some kid-"  
"Enderling" Lanky butted in the right terminology  
"Yeah, right, Enderling, She's gone a bit wacko, not like she isn't usually, and we been trying to get a hold of her"  
Henk rubbed at his chin "Now I seen a whole buncha Enderfolk pass round here, they went into th' forest for shade after bein' out in th' desert for so long 'fraid I'm gonna need a bit more to go on"  
"She's very aggressive"  
"Now they were all bein' pretty angry"  
"Well just a second I'll finish the description first" Creeps growled a little "Small 'bout your size-ish, very bony"  
Henk thought for a little while "Does th' lil' lady wear anythin' or do anythin' that might show her up?"  
"Well she is albino! Something a bit obvious to mention" Lanky yelled, he was still far away but had at least decided to come out from behind Cregg  
"Albino! Now that's somethin' y' should'a said first, nah I ain't seen no albino's round here, the sun would'a burned the lil' lass right up" He shook his head "Di'n't even know there were Enderfolk like that"  
"Well it is kinda rare" Lanky shuffled closer a little bit  
"Yeah, makes her stick out like a sore thumb. So do her gold pants!" Creeps laughed "I never really believe her when she talks about stealth!" he giggled "Now, think you might've seen someone parading around in gold?" He looked at Henk. Henk didn't look back instead the skeleton had averted his gaze to the ground, his empty sockets echoing with sad memory. "Yo fella... Wakey wakey"  
"Huh? I'm sorry there fellas kinda happens from time ta' time..." He rubbed shyly at his shoulder joint  
"Well why not ask that tribe you said you saw" Lanky tried to change the subject  
"Yeah but if they went off into the forest Notch knows where they are by now!" Creeps gave him a little glare, it was obvious he just wanted to spend less time around a Skeleton and his nerves were showing  
"Well I guess I can help you kind folk there" Henk smiled, petting Fluffer on the head the spider obediently followed him back up the bank and they dipped just out of sight. Creeps glared at Lanky who shyly shuffled on the spot, after a few seconds they both climbed up the bank to see what Henk was talking about. A few yards away there was a small wooden shack of a house, one side was made of sandstone however and had a small bit of smoke drifting from a chimney it looked nice and quaint, after a few moments Henk opened the door and shut it behind himself before placing a leather saddle onto Fluffer, swinging his legs he mounted the spider and pulled lightly on the reins, with a smile he looked up at Lanky and Creeps  
"I may not have seen yer' lil' pal come past here but I sure as heck can help yer' find those Enderfolk!"  
"Excellent!" Creeps exclaimed, Lanky let out a small sarcastic 'whoo', Cregg however had remained mostly oblivious and had been rolling in the sand.

Having a Spider Jockey riding with you made tasks a whole lot easier, as long as you could run fast, Fluffers speedy scuttling wasn't easy to keep up with especially if you only had four short legs. Fluffers keen eyesight and knowledge of the surroundings led them on a tidy path as long as Henk kept tugging on the reins stopping the critter from getting distracted. The journey seemed to go on forever for tiny little Creeps who had to run the whole way the distinctive sound of a Endermans chirp sounded a great relief to him as he finally flopped against a tree panting, Henk pulled on Fluffers reins and turned to look at the two  
"Now there should be the Enderfolk from earlier, I won't be goin' any further with ya' lads I don' think my presence will be of help to ya'" He took a small glance to Lanky who quickly looked away, nervous, before he continued "I might scare them" he added a couple of chirps from Fluffer and the headed off back to the desert "I hope ya' find yer friend"  
"You too" Lanky mumbled back leaving them both with a confused look as they went.  
"You too?" Creeps hissed "What the hell man!"  
"I'm sorry I panicked!"  
"Oh for Jeb's sake! Look you go ahead and see what you can do"  
"Alright" he muttered before following the sound of some chirps, there was a fairly large tribe of Endermen gathering berried and sticks making a small fire to set up camp. Lanky nervously looked around hoping to spot the leader or someone in charge, but he mostly saw just a big crowd of people, he coughed nervously trying to catch the attention of a few, it worked well enough as the few who heard him snapped their necks round to glare at him a couple bared their teeth at the new comer  
"Um, hello?" Lanky shyly whispered  
"Who are you?" one of them spat in a disgusted tone, Creeps was immediately taken aback by the hostile town used towards a fellow Enderman, Henk wasn't lying when he said they were aggressive. The voices owner showed himself, and to both Creeps and Lanky's surprise it was a small child not yet a Teenager but not a child, his markings were dark green, showing up against his dark skin well and his eyes a smoky, cloudy green one of them had a large pink scar cut right next to it only briefly touching the youngsters eyelid.  
"Answer me freak!" He suddenly shrieked at him, none of the adults seemed shocked at his tone in fact some of them seemed to be encouraging him. A few of the other Enderlings got behind the ring leader goading the little brat on.  
"Think you can come near us you little freaks, we don't take kindly to you outsiders trying to get your way in here!"  
Creeps and Lanky were speechless, where in the Nether could they go on from here...


	8. Cruel people

'Insolent brat' Creeps hissed to himself fuming at the little scarred Enderlings utter disrespect

"We just want to ask you something" Lanky squeaked

"Ask! ASK!" The youngster shrieked back "We only answer to real Endermen not you outsiders, so willing to abandon yourselves!" He snarled a few other Endermen turned their gaze to creeps, everything from bright green to piercing blues glared intently at him. Indignantly he glared back; he was not going to stand for this kind of treatment.

"W-what? I'm just as much an Enderman as any of you" Lanky whined hardly making a strong impression

"How can you call yourself an Enderman! When you wear the skin of other animals fashioned to the whim of those beasts"  
"M-my scarf? Y-you don't like it?"  
The child snorted in displeasure and others around him murmured in agreement "You act like one of those land-shapers, ready to carve out nature for their own selfish purpose!"  
"I don't do that!" Lanky squealed "I only move blocks at night to kind of, erm, fashion the place up! Like yourselves!"  
"Like us! Like US!" The youngster once again snorted and turned to a low hiss, others around him began bearing their mouths "You compare yourself to US? You compare yourself to a true Enderman? You are a fool! A disgusting fool!" some of the Endermen began putting their blocks down, their claws glinting off the fire.

"C'mon man what the Nether's your problem we just want a bloody question answered!" Creeps yelled his voice caused a small uproar as Endermen yelped and growled snarling in his direction

"You have no voice here you foul cur!" A older Enderman butted in, he put himself in front of the child and looked down on the duo with his deep eyes "Your kind are not welcome here" he huffed "Especially one like you!" His eyes slanted reflecting a small blue glint off Creeps helmet

"WHAT!" Creeps physically jumped and stood bolt upright, his eye twitching mouth flaring.

"You heard me, beast! Now shoo, we do not care for your mongrel species!" he sniffed. Without a second thought Creeps tried to run at him a long hiss rising in his throat, Lanky swerved and yanked him backwards.

"That was uncalled for!" He whined as he pulled the aggravated Creeper back  
"Uncalled for?" The child sniggered behind the older Enderman "It was called for as soon as you mangy cretins showed yourselves here"

"Settle down V'tii, you don't have to waste your breath on these outsiders" The elder patted the brat on the head

Lanky seemed unable to respond if his mouth were visible it most likely would've been opening and closing without sound such foul manners he had never encountered before, their disgusting behaviour left him stunned.

"Well!" shrieked the Enderman his voiced cracked a little bit with the pitch of it. Lanky remained shocked and Creeps was too furious to answer "You continue to burden us with your foul presence! What will it take to get rid of you before I force you out!" Many of the other Endermen hissed in agreement.

"Uh, uuh well then I just won't ask you" Lanky tried to say as if he were above it all "You won't know who were looking for! They could be anywhere, could be right under our noses this very instant!" He may have failed to sound above it all but his statement worked in getting their attention, they began exchanging glances and muttering amongst themselves  
"I knew it... There are more of those foul things?... They're trying to infiltrate us!... Filthy mongrels they're everywhere!... We should eliminate them and keep our tribe pure! Don't let them foul us!... We need to find the other before it gives us some disease!... We must wait for our leader!"  
Lanky looked at Creeps with a little triumphant smirk. The child, V'tii, stood up again

"You monsters!" He shrieked "You're threatening to ruin our purity! This will not stand! We are the true Endermen here! Not you! Show us where your foul cretin of a friend is so we may destroy your plague upon our perfect society!"  
"Now now now" Lanky grunted his eyes closed trying to focus on nicer things "Threatening us with our lives won't help you any bit!"

"What! You have no place to be making demands Cretin!"  
"No! Promise me this, if you tell us if you've seen our friend we'll leave never to return even if you haven't seen her!"

The tribe glared at each other, in a bizarre motion the males seemed to separate from the females glaring at them, the women of the tribe looked down submissively, as they tried to spy if any of them could be the intruder, in particular they seemed to be glaring at a grey skinned Enderlady they seemed to suspect her even though there was nothing different about her.

"WHERE ARE THEY!" V'tii snapped, panicked by the shrieking infant Lanky panted

"She's about so high" he weakly gestured with his hands "wears Gold armour on her legs, got a tooth jutting out on her bottom jaw, uh urm, average green eyes, and um" he kept sweeping his gaze across the group their own gaze unsettling him "very skinny, well bony really oh! And Albino!"

The tribe looked about themselves  
"What kind of voodoo enchantment is that! Ah-allbyno" V'tii squinted at them

"Albino? Nothing it's just a skin condition means she's a white-ish colour, no pigments or something like that"

The tribe gasped and snarled suddenly reverting to their old selves

"You mean the spawn of HEROBRINE!" V'tii screamed, other Endermen within the group whined and wailed as other snarled and roared at the dark god's name "Green eyes..." he muttered "Of course! You're all Herobrine's minions! You're here to wreak havoc on this world and kill the pure of blood! They took that demon child from us" He touched lightly at his scar "She... You dare bring her back again!"  
"Uuuh so you know her?" Was all Lanky managed to say  
"'Tis true" The elder one looked down "Our tribe was cursed with finding that demon, she was one of Herobrines creatures, her strange skin proved it, a soulless monster we took her in only to prevent her from going forth and summoning him from hell! We were saving you all even though you and your kind were so willing to abandon Notch and muddy your pure blood. You took her and now she's going to do it! She's going to release Herobrine that monster!"  
"Being Albino is no proof of all that..." Lanky scratched his head

"Do you see any of us looking like that!" He yelled "Of course it's unnatural! It's the work of Herobrine! He sends these demons to test us!"

"I…" Lanky was at a loss for words and he struggled to think of anything he could say to these close-minded individuals "Maybe we should go" He whispered in defeat, Creeps flapped his mouth to try and protest but he too struggled to think of any reason at all to stay near to these people.  
"No! You must stay!" The elder suddenly shouted pointing to them, quickly other members of the tribe ran up behind them and blocked their path  
"What is this!" Creeps yelled trying to put a menacing edge on his voice  
"You must remain until our leader comes back! He will decide what to do with you!"  
"Yeah!" V'tii snickered "Uncle will know what to do with you filthy mutts!"  
Lanky looked to Creeps and threw his hands in the air causing some of their captors to giggle some muttered "Cowards" to each other but they still kept tight around them blocking off their path. Unless of course Lanky would get round to teleporting but seeing as he'd already thrown his hands up in a gesture of defeat they were hardly going to get anywhere. All that was left was to wait for this 'leader' of theirs.

Eventually footsteps were heard and bushes rustled their wait seemed to finally be at a end.


	9. Not a pretty sight

"Sir?" The elder bowed in a greeting expecting said Enderman to reveal himself at any moment.  
Unsuccessful in any attempt of talking to these people Creeps and Lanky sat idly by surrounded by them any exit blocked off. Creeps stared angrily at the ground biting his tongue the urge to swear, yell and blow these assholes up was hard to drown out. Suddenly V'tii stood up  
"Blood!" He gasped. Upon the words mention member of the tribe gasped and flustered about women and children quickly warped away along with some of their partners fleeing the danger leaving far fewer people left behind, the kid was right the unmistakable tangy smell of the vital life fluid tainted the air.  
"Show yourself!" The elder yelled, the owner of the footsteps was visible as a shuffling silhouette it was also the origin of the smell. Lanky pressed himself against Creeps whimpering, feeling this pressure Creeps finally decided to give a half-assed look but it turned sour as he noticed everyone had gone.  
"Uuuh" the figure croaked "huuu... uuuhhh"  
"Speak!" V'tii screeched obviously having chosen to stay behind rather than leave with the rest of the children. The figure shuffled further forwards  
"UuuUUUUuuhHhh" it made no attempt to communicate, the remaining Endermen raised their claws ready to fight and some hissed with their mouths open displaying their aggression.  
"Uuhhh... Hhuuuuu" it continued to croak.  
Shuffling forwards even more its visage became clearer as the campfire illuminated it. Or what was left of it. Whatever it was it was disfigured, as if its face had been melted and pulled those with keen eyes noticed a tiny speck of blue reflecting the firelight  
"N-nyssa?" Creeps gasped causing some of the Endermen to suddenly stare at him with a mixture of shock and confusion  
"Aaaahh" it's croaking seemed to change pitch and it stepped forwards into the light. Its mere presence caused uproar.

The Tribe members howled, screeched and screamed even Lanky screamed at a deafeningly high pitch causing Creeps to wail too.  
It was Nyssa.  
But she was taller now. Different.  
But what really caused the commotion was her choice of attire. She had abandoned the wolfs' skin for a new cape. Not just any kind of cape it was made from an Endermen.  
What was left of the Enderman's face was pulled over hers like a hood giving her face a melted look, what was left of the Enderman's arms were tied around her neck the rest of it draped behind her odd bits of flesh still clung stubbornly to the sickening cape painting her with more blood. The face still seemed to be in a state of shock although hers wasn't. She glared at her surroundings through the eye holes her eyes seemed paler and her pupils had contracted to slits, her mouth was visible through the wide torn mouth-hole of the skin before she had the one tooth jutting from her jaw but now others joined it. Her newfound height could be attributed to a new joint in her legs her feet had been twisted and pulled until her toes stretched far in front and another toe behind, they looked more like birds feet than a Enderman's feet.  
"Is that a tail?" Creeps muttered almost half-oblivious to the gory garment but it was true the base of Nyssa's spine had been elongated to the point where it finally pushed out from her body.  
"You foul FOUL MONSTER!" The elder screamed "THAT WAS OUR LEADER!" Other Endermen joined him in screaming some sounded fearful others consumed by rage. Nyssa smiled her lips pulled back further over the gross amount of teeth and she began to lift her arms. Her arms were now elongated and appeared disproportionate to the rest of her, her hands had been stretched out into long thin talons. One clasped something gleefully, her joints cracked as her hands opened nestled in her palm lay one perfectly formed Enderpearl it obviously belonged to the poor fellow who had been skinned.  
The tribe once more howled in an uproar and Lanky whimpered.  
"YOU MONSTER" V'tii screamed his voice cracking up a little "I SHOULD'VE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE! I SHOULD HAVE WAITED! I SHOULD HAVE WAITED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAD DROWNED!" the Elder looked down at him  
"My child…" he gasped  
"Father I know killing a child is a sin but to destroy that monster I was willing to suffer damnation for saving the worlds from it!" he choked tearing up.  
"Eehee… Eheheheeee" Nyssa hissed out a giggle. In a sudden snap movement she ripped off her cloak and threw it at V'tii whose father pulled him out of the way letting the skin flop down with a squelch. With the rest of her body revealed it didn't make her look any better! Her back was twisted into a hunched position as Iron Ingots were crudely shoved into her back appearing as dorsal spikes. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that the bead which normally hung by a thread around her neck was now embedded in her flesh.  
The tribe could no longer stand this horrible display as two Endermen that had stayed behind barring Creeps and Lanky from escaping vanished momentarily reappearing behind the monsterized Nyssa they both kicked her in the back sending her face first to the ground but she pushed down with her hands and rolled back upright in no time, clenching her leg muscles she somersaulted backwards before impaling one of the offenders on her claws, he gasped as his blood ran to the floor. It was the last noise he was to make as Nyssa yanked her claws down almost splitting him completely in half sending his bodily fluids gushing everywhere, the Endermen began to panic some went to flee others charged at Nyssa eager to take the monster down. Lanky however whimpered one last time and flopped to the floor, with no way of helping the tribe Creeps hunched over his friend and desperately nudged at him trying to wake him so they could escape. The Endertribe were not faring well against this 'Demon' Nyssa her wildly swinging claws seared through the attacking offenders limbs one of them was decapitated and his head rolled into the fire a gory spectacle on its own as it burnt and melted it's eyes bursting. Creeps couldn't wake Lanky and so had resorted to the last option he could manage and bit down on his friends scarf and tried backing off into the woods. There were sometimes when he really wished he had hands and arms. Soon enough five bodies plummeted to the floor as five lives lost, V'tii clung crying to his father who used his body to shield the child. Nyssa began to assault the bodies further, breaking open their ribcages like rusty hatches she pulled out their Enderpearls adding them to her collection. The fire crackled as it began to char the skull of the Enderman's head disrupted by the noise Nyssa turned to face the four who remained. She eyed each one carefully  
"EEEeeEEENNNnooOOOUUUHHH!" she bellowed spreading her arms out her body played host to the dancing of sparks and tiny arcs of electricity before a blinding light and distinctive rumble of thunder and lightning made all present unconscious.

His head pounded, his mind rolled and the world span in three different directions at once  
"Ooooh" he moaned struggling to comprehend anything about him. Something cold and wet was placed on his forehead.  
"Settle down now partner, you had a rough night" a voice cared for him  
"Wh-what happened?" he groaned the surrounding area slowly became visible as a wooden hut with a wall of Sandstone and Henks familiar face leaned over him  
"I'm not sure partner" he said "But it really weren't a pretty sight"


	10. New Faces

Creeps ached all over. Each movement his body made felt like an eternity.

Henk checked over him, the guy wasn't much of a medic he only really managed to supply food and poke him to determine whether or not he had broken bones all he managed to prove was that the Creeper was bruised all over. Eventually he slouched down on some wool adjacent to the fireplace his body throbbing and numb.  
"So what did you find when you found me? You havn't said where Lanky is" He queried the skeleton

"Weeellll When I found ya' you were trapped by a rock! Reckon it had hit yer in the face or somethin'" he scratched at his chin "Darn lucky too! Looks like some lightnin' struck teh area"

"Yeess" Creeps murmured holding back a whine from a pounding headache "I remember... she cast it..." Henk looked at him confused "No doesn't matter now" he whined as his body groaned it was eager to lie down, rest and sleep the pain away but Creeps had more important things to ask "Lanky? Wh-where is he?"  
"Yer' friend with big long scarf? Nah he'd left'"  
"WHAT! He wouldn't have left me behind! I-i'm his friend" He whined rather pathetically  
"Well I don' think he had a choice" Henk soothed him  
"Wh-what?"  
"Well there was some guy who was awake there. Kinda old he had a burn on his face ring any bells?"  
"Uhh No"  
"Well I guess he coulda been burnt by whatever teh blast was... He was muttering about some demon takin' his kid and 'the other one' he then muttered 'bout goin' on a hunt with his tribe. He was downright rude when he noticed I was takin' you away thought better of it than arguin' back"  
"Oh Notch... S-she kidnapped him?" he moaned  
"Uh, Is this the same 'she' you fellas were lookin' for?"  
"Yeah but she's s a ... a ... a a monster now!"  
"Monster!"

A snowy biome passed under way and pine tree's rolled past yet something didn't feel right. Like a nagging feeling that quickly turned into a horrible feeling of a looming shadow spreading fear. A bizarre echo of horror it hit right before a nasty smell wafted their way.  
"Do you smell that, Gunvor?" one turned to the other.  
"Yeah..." he murmured.  
"It smells like... like death." She muttered with a nasty lump in her throat "It smells like death, and... burning, and... I don't know what else" Despite the lump curiosity took hold as something drawed her to it "Lets go down there and find out..."  
"Only because its your duty to protect the best you can." Her friend reassured her almost sensing her nerves.  
"Of course" She nodded.  
The began a gentle glide down into the forest, landing lightly on the ground and began searching around trying to follow the stench. Slowly the came to the verge of a clearing they met it with horrified gasps, Gunvor creaked a mechanical hand to his mouth and gagged for a Creeper he appeared normal by himself. His skin was the natural shade of leafy green and his eyes seemed hollow if it wern't for the red pinprick of a pupil, Gunvor however was one of the few Redstone mechanics he had made fine work of it too. Around his middle he had a total of three devices packed one leather strap led to twin iron panels on his back, each lined with Redstone it gave a rudimentary form of air travel not too good but it worked not for long though and he had to drop them.  
"Ussselesss" he hissed.  
The more successful device had it's own strap they were his mechanical arms, he called them 'Creeper-grips' and they had saddle bags tagged onto them. Having the mechanical hands allowed the Creeper extra movement and dexterity or in this case helping to hold back his last meal. Tiamat didn't seem to be doing much better as her silvery legs shook she was drastically different than the other Spiders her silvery body bore natural wings and above her yellow eyes her exoskeleton had a pattern resembling a gold ring.

"OH GOD EW! WHAT THE HELL!" she yelped gagging, looking around at the scene before her.  
There were dead endermen all over. It was a mess, endermen had been ripped to shreds, blood was everywhere, some scorches from what may have been lightning darkened the centre of the clearing. Judging by the amount of bodies left about it was clear a Clan had been here.  
"EW! Thisss is so nasty! I wonder what happened here though..." Gunvor hissed his lisp quite pronounced.  
"Maybe they had an internal fight?" Tiamat pondered  
"Those look like lightning scorch marksss... like a massive explosion, but most if not all of the dead endermen have obviously been torn apart by clawsss, not killed by lightning." he pointed metal fingers about  
"Hmm..." Tiamat nodded, Endermen did have claws but these seemed different, very odd.  
"Endermen wouldn't usually kill a mass number of themselvesss within their own clan though, maybe one or two, but defenitely not thisss many... so how would it be this bad?"  
"... unless another enderman either turned on their own clan, or was from somewhere else all together, but that wouldn't explain the scorch marks, because those look as fresh as the bodies here... maybe a few hours ago?"  
"Possible... hey look at thisss, I found footprints."  
Scuttling over to Gunvor, he did in fact find footprints, they looked like boots. Something a humanoid such as a zombie, human, or skeleton might wear.  
"Lets follow them then? I can see a desert a ways away"  
"Alright then, letsss go already! You ssshould take to the ssskiesss and ssee if you can ssspy anything elssse" with a nod Tiamat vibrated her wings, lifting off slowly and with a little jitter from where she stood.  
Tiamat made sure to glide close to Gunvor but kept herself above the trees. Her flying was not so smooth and she wobbled a little but the view was much better from up here.  
"Isss that a house?" Gunvor called up to her, he must've seen it while she was momentarily distracted by the view.  
"I'm pretty sure it is. I think I see a skeleton and a creeper down there too, just through the window!"  
"Another creeper? Yesss! Must go meet!" Gunvor grinned enjoying the thought of meeting another of his own. Tiamat curved her flight down into a arc she glided towards the house and it's occupant's became much easier to see across this sea of sand.

Lanky wheezed.  
He moved but his body resisted, he wondered if he slept on his arms again and he'd just gone numb again.  
"HUURK!" he screeched as his body as pulled upwards by the neck and he was dropped down onto stone, a cold chill clearly identified the area as a cave. Looking round he sat still waiting for the swirling images to connect themselves and make some sense, it was dim and lit only by a single furnace, the end of the small tunnel was blocked off by collapsed dirt. Shadows stretched over the wall spinning round he found the least favourable option facing him, whatever had become of Nyssa was looming over him sending his stomach in fearful somersaults she examined him from top to bottom her mouth dropped open and she croaked again went silent and paused

"YOU" she hissed causing Lanky to squeak "YOU HELP! ... help me... HELP... please" it was like two sentences merged into one. Lanky glanced down at her claws they had ripped through one of his own so easily he had little choice to do as she wished or become some kind of Ender-sushi!  
"I, urm, yes I-I-I, Uh, I-i-i" he managed to whisper, it was enough for her and she wrapped one large hand around his chest and hauled him to his feet  
"IRON NEED FIND NOW!" she barked, Lanky was promptly dropped on the floor "H-help meee... FIND IRON... help... NOW... consumed... I SAID NOW! ...me" Quickly he was picked up again and thrown to the mouth of the cave where it ebbed out into a cave system with tunnels spreading out in different directions. "DON'T LEAVE... me here... YOU LEAVE I KILL YOU WILL FIND AND KILL NOW... help me... please... DO ME HELP!"


	11. A day with the Monster

Cowering over Lanky shifted dirt around, he motioned the blocks to make a bridge over a tiny stream. A lot of caves had random streams even the few rare underground rivers leaking in from holes in the surface. He could probably have stepped over this stream but he wanted to take no chances water hurt like hell. Eventually tiptoeing over the deadly stream he felt safer to breathe, the tunnel he had gone down was not the wisest, he had found little Iron even with his strange knack of pinpointing ores it had been a dismal turnout. Fifteen blocks of Iron ore, seven he found in a vein of the stuff, he had found nearly everything but Iron even two diamonds surrounded by lapis! But he had left them he had been told to get Iron as his life depended on it risks were unnecessary. The light of the furnace had gone but glowing hot Iron ingots were a clear sign he was outside the dank little cubbyhole. Dimly lighting up the area he watched her lean over them. Ignoring the heat she grasped one of the Ingots still soft from its smelting, he watched as she looked at an open wound on her elbow before she squished the Iron onto it pushing it under her skin Lanky felt close to vomiting as he could see her fingers under the skin moulding it. Before long the Iron appeared to have merged with her skin what was left of the Ingot jarred out like an awkward spike, with a smirk she swung her elbow the spike slicing at the air it was her new weapon. Lanky knew Nyssa always had a fondness for weaponry but was she really trying to convert her entire body into a weapon? Why didn't the Iron burn her? He tried focusing on all these questions. Anything to try and block out the horror of the past day. She finished with the Iron having turned both her lower arms into three-pronged slicing machines before noticing him without a moment's notice she charged him yanking the Iron from his grasp she glared at the meagre turnout and hissed at him. Lanky shook he wanted to argue or say something about finding little in that cave but his mouth dried up every time he looked at her monstrous form  
"I'll find more" He gasped in a hoarse whisper.  
"YOU BETTER… find me… MORE IRON… help… FIND ALL THE IRON! I WANT IT ALL"  
"Y-y-yes" he whimpered, she turned her spiked back to him returning to the furnace while Lanky tried to convince his shaking knees to move she rammed the Iron into the furnace but the coal didn't ignite. She growled angrily ramming the Iron in harder, when that didn't work she began smashing at the furnace when even that didn't work she tore it up from the ground and smashed it repeatedly against the wall bellowing her frustration.  
"You need coal to power it…" Lanky snapped irritated at the banging echoing around the cave she snarled giving him a glance over her shoulder "You know how to work a furnace Nyssa"  
"Iiii… know… NEED… how to… MORE IRON… N-nyssa" She dumped the furnace to the ground uninterested "YOU WORK IT" she snapped "I FIND MORE POWER" she barged past him shoving him to the wall before crawling into one of the cave holes, presumably it lead to the surface and she vanished.

In the chasms of the underground world Lanky found himself twisting and turning along its long winding tunnels he found coal ore and scooped it up collecting it along with the Iron. He was gathering more this time. Once again it was a dead end but at least he had over double what he had last time! Running back he quickly placed coal into the furnace and began smelting the ore the glow it emitted gave him comfort, solace and warmth he wanted to cling onto it and drag it with him. But moving a furnace prevented it from working and not having the promised Iron would surly bring him more pain than it was worth. If he had wood he would've lit the area up properly as well. He wasn't alone he had found a Creeper along that tunnel but despite his efforts to communicate the Creeper wouldn't have it and ignored him. He missed his friends, he missed the world above he missed its cool breeze and warm sunlight the smell of the leaves and aroma of the flowers he missed it all he wanted it all back!  
CLANG  
CLANK  
"Wha?" Something beneath him shook and clanged, something obviously metal. Tracing the sounds he found them to be coming from below, sliding his fingers around the stone he lifted a block clean out and moved it away before taking another, once the second block had been removed it revealed a cavern below him. On the floor lay three corpses probably the Endermen from that horrible Tribe they met earlier, the place was illuminated by a single torch enough to show the terrible lacerations on the bodies. They were already gathering flies. The light from where Lanky kneeled illuminated the cavern further and there she was Nyssa hunched over something in the corner shaking it she shook in a cruel laugh before dropping it with a crash she backed away from it revealing it to Lanky. It was that kid, V'tii, he had been trapped in a small cage of twisted bars too tough for the infant to break, he glared angrily at his captor even finding time to shoot a venomous glare up at Lanky.  
'That ass' Lanky thought, even trapped he was giving evil glares to the one Enderman that could possibly help him.  
A growl snatched his attention as two beady green eyes glared at him  
"YOU" she snapped, letting out a frightened squeal Lanky did the only thing he could thing of and threw all the smelted Iron down the hole wincing a little as the metal was still hot  
"Take it! Take it! Take it!" he squeaked hoping for little punishment if she was even going to punish him. It seemed enough as her attention was diverted. Nyssa reached over and collected the Iron examining each Ingot she rammed three into the floor creating a triangle in which she stood. The metal seemed to glow and bend towards her as if pulled and moulded by invisible hands leaning back she spread her arms out wide her claws spread out searching, feeling for the air, the dank musty air of the cavern tingled with life and the air buzzed, five Enderpearls rolled about the room before closing in on her as if she were magnetic. Then it began. The Iron spires on her back began to glow, light blue arcs spread to the other spikes across her body when the arcs had connected they spread out like eerie fingers locating targets they shot to the Iron in the ground and connected again making an electric triangle. It made more sense why she wanted all this Iron now Lanky thought over this watching the strange spectacle beneath him each corner of the triangle began spinning into miniature blue tornadoes. Each blue swirl moved about as if looking they generated separate blue lights which equally spun around them like orbiting moons but then they shrunk down and vanished, the electricity seemed to get weaker and Lanky wondered what was going to happen next when Nyssa spun on the spot still emanating electricity she picked up one of the Enderpearls. Immediately it began changing colour like a glass orb filled with smoke it retained a blueish hue for a long while before returning to a normal pearl colour only it seemed dull and 2D.

That's when he saw it.  
The bodies.  
The flesh.  
The urge to vomit rose again.  
The same thing happened to the other Pearls.  
It increased. More flesh.  
More twisting.  
The bodies twitched in brief echoes of life.  
Brief echoes of pain.  
Squirming.  
Squelching.  
Revolting.  
Lanky could only cover his face as what he saw before him. It would haunt him forever.


	12. What's at the door?

Henk rubbed his chin. In all his life he'd never heard of such a thing. It was the kind of stuff you'd hear in a fairy tale.  
"So..." he repeated "How exactly did somethin' like this happen again?"  
"For the last time I don't know!" Creeps snapped, he had to repeat himself three times over now "I just wanna find Lanky!"

"I just wanna find Creeps and go home" Lanky whined almost simultaneously he was fed up of finding Iron, he had to travel further and further each time to find more even coal to fuel the furnace was slowly getting harder to find. Sometimes when he got back Nyssa would be gone and he'd be allowed a few minutes to crawl into the corner curled up in a ball. At least then he could feel a little safer. He had only five Iron from this trip, he would've had six but he managed to drop it into a stream, Gentle growling and scuffles meant he was not alone, considering what went on earlier he almost hoped it was Nyssa and not anything... else. Advancing slowly he found the growls to be coming from the room below him, it gave him a little but not much comfort, at least they wern't in the same room. Clutching the Iron closer to him he turned to put it into one of the many furnaces, as the demand for Iron increased so did the amount of furnaces becoming a entire wall of furnaces, today he was met face to face by this furnace. Without a second thought he jumped back flinging the iron ore in the air screeching. Slowly he dropped to his knees and pulled all the iron back towards him, placing down a torch he looked to see what exactly stared back at him  
"Oh..." was all he managed to muster. Crudely shoved into one of the furnaces was one of those Iron Golem creations, Lanky hadn't seen many before. It sure was big, despite being pounded and twisted it was only half in one of the Furnaces with limbs hanging out akimbo one of the limbs and some of the excess body had been twisted round in a crude attempt to shove it into another furnace. He sighed and began trying to pull it out of the furnaces it occupied.

Henk supplied some warm water, milk and a blanket letting Creeps huddle over next to the fireplace. He peered through the windows every so often checking on Cregg and Fluffer, it had been revealed that the dim dragon had stayed behind rather playing with the over-sized spider than following him and Lanky. He wouldn't have been much use anyway, the only thing he probably would've done would be to sit and stare bleakly.

Landing a few blocks away Tiamat shuffled to avoid Gunvor as he charged over to join her kicking up a little sand as he went. It was a well built house neat-looking and probably rather cosy too. The duo exchanged a quick glance and Gunvor curled his lips up

"I'm ssso excited! Another creeper! I rarely ever get to talk with othersss anymore!" he whispered, hopping up and down excitedly as they crept up nearer to the window

"Calm down, we'll say hello, and then you can talk with them as long as they don't mind, but we don't want to be rude, we could very well be intruding right now..." Tiamat murmured nervous after what they saw and at what could be going on inside this house or even if the two events were connected! They inched closer to the window trying to get a glance in to make sure they wern't intruding on anything but there was thumping. A small gust of sand got chucked about as something scuttled about on the other side of the house.

"What is that?" She whispered  
"I have no idea, but itsss pretty loud." Gunvor said slightly louder than her  
"SHHH!... You're pretty loud!" she hissed, pulling him down worried he may have disturbed something. Keeping close to the ground the duo tip-toed to the edge of the house peering round a Enderdragon and spider of all things were rolling about in the sand. It was hard to tell if they were fighting or not but they spun and gurgled at each other, watching for longer fighting didn't seem like it there would be more blood and they've seen enough of that already.  
Tiamat nudged Gunvor she didn't want to hang near a Enderdragon who knows what it could do if it didn't take a liking to them! Quietly they shuffled round the corner of the House and past the fence, Tiamat took another peek through the window at the occupiers. The Creeper jittered nervously near the fire as the skeleton poked him again, it removed the bandage showing off rather light burns showing as patches of pale skin. The Creeper must have been at the clearing and got hit by whatever exploded. While she watched them she was unaware Gunvor had climbed the step to the door and knocked with a mechanical hand with a smug little grin, he's so proud of his creeper-based inventions he always grins as he uses them. Especially when there's others to impress with them. Tiamat dropped to the sound of the knocking and jumped to his side  
"What do you think you're doing?!" She panicked  
"Ssssorry didn't realissse we were jusst going to sssnoop around their property and not even drop in to ssssay 'hi'"  
"Well no I didn't mean that but" She was cut off by the door creaking open. A hollow eye peered around the edge for a couple of seconds before the door opened fully and a Skeleton looked down at the duo his leather pants rustled a bit as he cocked his head at them.  
"Uhh, you look like ah Creeper but what's wit' the fancy doodads there?" he locked onto Gunvor first

"oooh Impressssed by my Creeper gripsss?" He flushed with pride at his work, Tiamat rolled all eight of her eyes and shifted out from behind him  
"Umn excuse me we're inquiring about, uhm" she smiled shyly at the Skeleton who stared back, despite lacking eyes it was clear he was not looking at her but at her halo and wings transfixed by the unusual appendages she coughed a little gently drawing his attention away from them "We were wondering if you knew anything about some strange happenings in the neighbouring forest?" She leaned up with a almost pleading expression.  
"Oh! Ooh Right, well ye' better come in and talk to mah friend 'ere he knows 'bout that" He took a step back and gestured inside. Gunvor made a little happy squeak and was promptly blocked by Tiamat, she knew he'd probably run in and chat the other Creeper to death if she didn't get in first, he gave her a huffy glare.

The shack wasn't very big and with her and Gunvor added it was starting to feel a little cramped, the place evidently wasn't designed for more than two or three at max. Looking about the place she wandered over to the only place big enough for a spider, the green mat, sniffing it she couldn't get comfortable it smelt of another spider, The Creeper besides the fire watched her carefully he too was drawn to the wings and halo so much so he didn't notice the other guy advancing on him  
"Whoa! Ssssomeone played with fire!"  
"BWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The other Creeper leapt in the air it's four legs flailing about for land his voice raised to a hiss the shock acting almost like a trigger to explode. Tiamat squeaked and recoiled just in case but it died down before anything explosion-y happened everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Creeper stood rigid only his chest rose up and down with his breaths as he glared outwards. Gonvor laughed edging closer to him again  
"Sssssoooo" He drew out "Thisss Sssskeleton sssayss that uhh ya' got some info on thissss creepy sssstuf in the foressst" he waved his eyebrows or at least the creeper equivalent, the creeper had the same reaction of Tiamat which was that of a rather unimpressed dull stare

"What in the Nether do you two want with that?" He snorted rather gruffly  
"I must excuse him he's been out cold for about two days found 'im in that forest ya' were talkin' about Miss..." Henk trailed off he had just let them in without even asking names that was rude of him and he mentally scolded himself for it, he just got distracted by the creepers fancy doodads and the spiders too! Or whatever the things were he was still trailed off a little in his own head he only just snapped back in to what was being said  
"...Tiamat" The spider finished one sentence "And this is Gunvor, it's a pleasure to meet you both, so I'm guessing that is Fluffers outside with that dragon right?"

"Oh-ho yes he's quite the playful type, uhm, Tiamat" Henk jittered with a pang of nervousness, he really needed to stop letting his mind wander off sometimes he missed... so much that way. The Spideress chuckled before letting out a sigh  
"But we really need to know what happened in that clearing, we've never seen anything like that before, such a, a brutal attack" Creeps grimaced at having to relive such a weird and horrid event. A small sigh escaped his lips and he began to recount his tale from meeting such a horrible group of Endermen and their vile behaviour up to his young neighbour reappearing as a deformed beast and the atrocities that followed before he was knocked out and brought here. Everyone apart from Henk bore shocked and rather startled expressions, such a transformation was unheard of.

"I lost my best friend to it, I don't even know if he's still alive" Creeps drooped on the spot

"Awww" Tiamat cooed and tried to scuttle over to him offering some if little comfort but he retracted from her touch

"Weeelll you're ssssure lucky we came along we loove to help thosssse who need it! And I would be glad to help out a fellow creeper" Gunvor cuddled up closer too "ssssuch assss myself" He proudly waved his grips with a wide grin, Creeps remained unimpressed

"Great another redstone worker Jeb knows how anyone stands that stuff" He snorted leaning back to avoid being too close to the grips "I'd rather just know how you can help me rather than that crazy stuff" Gunvor snorted back at his marvellous inventions being belittled and Tiamat stifled a grin at him he was always far too proud of his work.  
Thundt  
The door waved on it's hinges as something knocked into it, a high pitched hiss came off the roof  
"Ah! Now that'd be Fluffers come fer his tea! Ah! But why's he on the roof?" Henk ran to the window "Fluffers!? What'cha up there for yer daft beastie?" He called to the roof. A long deep moan joined the hiss.  
"Now why is Cregg up there too?" Creeps looked up.  
The door banged again.


	13. Creeping Terror

Henk furrowed his bony brow

"Fluffers!?" He called out once more before he grabbed hold of the door handle. That was all it took just the tiniest twist of the door handle allowed it to be thrown wide knocking the skeleton to the wall in a shower of splinters, accompanied by the top half of the door. A thud, a few grunts and a wet thunk and a rather tired and withered Enderman flopped to the floor. No one made a sound and everyone stared stunned at the intruder who panted heavily gasping for each and every breath constricting its tight and tired chest each breath spewed red bubbles as sticky bodily fluids pooled around his face and legs. Most of it wasn't his. Covering his face and head was something Creeps was sure belonged on the inside of something not the outside. The rest of the blood seeped from a deep opening along its leg

"C-close the door" It panted breaking the silence "C-c-cl-clooooseee theee doooor" it began gasping over and over

"What door? You broke it!" Creeps

"N-no Cl close it" Whoever was spread out on the floor weakly shuffled around trying to push himself up, Henk stared in shock at the piece of wood dangling in his hands most of him wasn't paying attention to the new comer or how Tiamat and the others quickly rushed over to him once they too had got over the shock arrival, he wandered to his door and held the piece up to the broken doorway a little piece of his well-loved home shattered. Combined with a series of bizarre events that day it felt like nothing was normal a strange thing to be feeling but he'd lived here and raised a spider here he was attached to this place and it was his piece of normality but now there are four other people all squished up in his shack and his beloved pet and friend was cowering with a dragon on the roof.

"Henk?" Tiamat gently rustled his leggings "Do you have any fresh wool we can tie around Kai's leg" Henk looked back over, the Enderman had been shifted round and propped up near the fire, whatever organs that were stuck on his body had been wiped off and sat in a gooey corner. He had a small variety on cuts on his body but they were nowhere near as fresh as the gash on his leg, his heavy chest had a circular tattoo, he looked as though he'd been running non-stop for miles and miles, so tired his eyes could hardly stay open looking carefully Henk could only just see that one was blue and the other looked bloodshot or something.  
"That I do, the chest next to ma' books has plenty in it, there's a couple a' milk buckets stashed there too fella looks parched" He watched her pull out some wool and he joined picking up a bucket of milk, whoever this Kai person was but he sure as heck knew how to down a bucket or two. Only he and Tiamat seemed to be paying attention to the newcomer Gunvor kicked sand over the intestines shoved in the corner and Creeps looked out the window as if it'd give him any signs

"Um now that'cha had some rest fella can ye' explain why you burst in here so vigorously" Kai shook his head and rubbed his brow with a groan

"I was with a friend but so long ago... we got separated I've been running non-stop for days I lost count the attackers, agh they've been following me! They must be after my friends too! They're after everyone!" Both Tiamat and Henk had to grab hold of Kai to keep him sat down "Oh lord" He drooped back down again.  
Creeps bobbed up and down trying to peer onto the roof or at least trying to see if either of the two pets up there moved

"Then" He spoke "Why didn't you ask the other Endermen out there for help rather than barging on in here?" everyone paused and Gunvor shifted over to peer out the window as well  
"They're a ssssssorry looking bunch" he added upon further examination of the tall figures in the desert he was right they were all limping or seemed hunched over shuffling about at slow speeds, a sorry bunch if ever anyone saw one

"What!? NO! nononononononono" Kai started rambling trying to force himself upright but his leg refused to push him up, Tiamat tried pushing him back down again  
"Hey hey heeeey calm down, It's obviously just a sick or elderly tribe passing through or, or something!" she cooed softly trying to get him to calm down  
"No no no no! You don't understand!" he grabbed at her legs trying to push them off in a uncoordinated effort he almost seemed to both be pulling them over him more as well as off "OH NOTCH IT'S AT THE DOOR! IT'S AT THE DOOR!" He suddenly escalated into an ear splitting screech sending all of them reeling. Henk recovered fast, mostly brought out of his pained grimace by dust falling on his head, the ceiling banged and whined as Fluffers and Cregg let out wails and Henk spun to the door there was indeed someone there but their face was hidden in the night judging by the silhouette it did appear like an Enderman. It didn't knock but stood there, with an angry expression he pulled out his bows and arrows, useless against Endermen but having them would surly give the not-interested expression he desired.  
"NO NO DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!" Henk ignored him and removed the broken half of the door from the doorway and was promptly throttled. With a startled gasp from his house guests his bony neck clicked and cracked under the pressure of the alien limb. Tiamat jumped on and over Kai wrapping herself around his legs and tried pulling him away from the doorway. The lower half of the door shook and wobbled, its hinges shook and splintered as they were torn out and the slab of wood was kicked away. Leaping forwards to help his friends Gunvor utilized his Creeper-Grips and dug the metal appendages into the thin limb around Henk's neck, they were lucky that Henk didn't need to breathe else he'd already be dead. The sharp tips of the Grips hands pierced the dark Ender-skin but it didn't even twitch, Henk continued to gasp as he was pulled in different directions. With a clatter he was suddenly dropped as the last of the door vanished from the doorway, Henk crumpled up on the floor gasping despite his lack of lungs. Whoever had attacked him had stepped back from the door, something seemed off about its stance as it scanned the inside of the room  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT YOU CREEP!?" Tiamat bristled pulling Henk back behind her. It continued to ignore her until it settled on the corner of the hut. Kai was pulling at the sandstone blocks trying to create a back door exit. As soon as it spotted him it leapt into action it grabbed onto the door way with one two three four five of its limbs?! Everyone in the room froze, Endermen didn't have that many limbs and it was too big to be a spider. It's skin was certainly that of an Endermans as it used it's doorway grips to pull itself further into the room, a face that could only be described as a thick mask waved around the room keeping what was presumably an eye on Kai. The tangled mass of flailing limbs heaved itself into the room flailing out it grabbed at Kai's injured leg sending shrieks throughout the land as it violently yanked him back towards it but he held firm to the wall and the yanks became more violent tearing open his leg wound further and further it seeped at an alarming rate through his bandages. Having had enough of his small home invaded that day Henk drew an arrow and fired it into the limb expecting it to teleport away from the attack. It didn't. The arrow hardly even phased that… thing but sank through the dank flesh; the tip peeked out the other side. Everyone remained in shock or frozen in fear at whatever was in the doorway, Henk swerved round and fired straight into the creature's eye popping it like a human's zit, still it paid no mind, ignoring the foul ooze on its face it gurgled and yanked Kai from the wall with a pop, his leg now dislocated Kai couldn't fight back as he was slid across the floor. Henk panicked and fired more and more arrows turning each limb and its face into a make-do pin cushion. Gunvor leapt on Kai's back ignoring his angered squeal and thrust a Grip-arm at the creature pushing it back with a splintering snap. The thing slipped on the hut's doorstep flailing with all its limbs it let Kai go but at the cost of one of Gunvor's arms, the swirling mass of limbs snapped the iron device. The creature swung on its arms that were still left in the doorway, and gurgled but the gurgling stopped and elevated into a low croak it looked down at the broken iron arm in its grasp and stood up. There was a long pause and Henk loaded up another arrow without hesitation he shot at the monster but yet again it did nothing. Eventually it turned and hobbled away iron prize in deformed hand.  
"My Grips… It… My Grips" was the only sound from the hut as no one dared speak the monstrosity that was before them left no words for them to say. Henk looked out the door grimly. After all Creeps and Gunvor did see more than one Enderman out there. They certainly weren't Endermen. Not any more.


	14. Escape to someplace safer

With full knowledge of what was actually out there all those figures in the distance made more sense, what might've been seen as a few elderly Endermen shuffling around at a glance were actually more of these things. Spread out across the desert the tall towers of flesh covered most of the horizon it was clear they were combing over the desert examining everything.

"Damn those critters are everywhere!" Henk hissed through his teeth he spun round to survey the mess.  
Creeps was re-fixing the sandstone wall where Kai had pulled at it. While Kai himself had gone very pale his leg remained twisted at an awkward angle. Tiamat used some of her silk to try and replace his bandages as the freshly torn wound bled anew. Gunvor angrily slumped in the corner tweaking his fancy doodads muttering under his breath. The place was a mess and it certainly wouldn't last if another one of those things got to them, and they would patches of the shapeless fiends slowly closed in on them in an ever-advancing line of bodies.  
"We're gon' have teh get outta here and right now if we don' want any more of those things slithering in here!"  
"But we can't!" Tiamat interjected "Kai can hardly move, heck I don't think he's aware of what's happening at the moment, he's lost so much blood I thought he was going to pass out! Nether he might do soon if we don't get proper help for him" The spider was right he wouldn't stand much of a chance by himself anymore, not until he had seen a professional. Henk thought over a few decisions  
"Hey you got any Iron? I need to repair my Gripssss!" Gunvor still angrily pestered the edges of his mechanical doodads before adding more to his sentence "Uh, I casssse more of thossse thingsss get to usss, better chance of fighting them!"  
Creeps snorted amused at his frustration over the devices "Fight without 'em then!" He earned a glare off Gunvor.

"I do! But I got somethin' better for us in me' ol' chests!" He cracked a bony finger to the idea "I dun' know anythin' 'bout dragon ridin' but I sure as heck know how tah ride a Spider!" He dived over to his chest studiously avoiding the other chest in the corner and pulled out a saddle  
"Hey! I'm not wearing that!" Tiamat jumped a little after having one or two glances put to her, the idea of letting him on her back worried her a little she wasn't much for the idea of having a rider in most situations.  
"Not you Fluffers won't be mindin' helpin' out an injured stranger! We won't have teh ride for too long only to a place with less o' those things and hopefully get some help with that wound!" He bound outside and rattled the saddle about calling his spider off the roof he hooked it round Fluffer and connected the straps making sure not to catch any of the Spider's fur in the buckle before proudly patting the saddle.

"That should work but maybe we should spend less time talking about it and more time moving?" Creeps snarled with little care working his way out the door way and into the sand's musky air. Being the taller and more mobile of the group Henk and Tiamat levered Kai up to his feet most of his weight got toppled over onto Henk throwing the skeletons balance off even with his meagre attempts at placing his own feet on the floor, Henk found himself bearing most of the weight. Struggling to stay in a straight line Henk meandered to Fluffers who eyed his master strangely, with a grunt and a small nudge off Tiamat he managed to drop Kai onto the Spiders back, Fluffers squealed and reared at the unfamiliar weight, Henk panicked as the spiders commotion drew a few glances off more of those things their heads or appendages replacing their heads swung to them locking on to their precise location and changing their directions  
"Shhh shhhh SSHHH!" Henk could only hiss repeatedly and pat Fluffers head trying to soothe the Spider, He nodded to Tiamat who helped pull Kai into a steadier position and handed him the reins. He lightly got hold of the leather strips in one hand, if he so much as moved the other hand his whole world went dizzy and he'd fall off, although Kai kept an eye on Henk he'd never ridden a Spider before. Creeps and Gunvor emerged from the house a few moments later; they didn't help with the Spiders they seemed as though they could manage it themselves. Creeps looked to the roof. Cregg stayed curled around the wooden rooftop warily watching the hills, it was strange that he didn't follow his master, where ever he'd gone, although if he had indeed been kidnapped by whatever that monster-now-ex-friend was then Creeps didn't quite blame the drake, even he would've thought twice about coming after that thing. The days were just getting stranger and stranger.  
"I ain't sure where we can be headin' but I know if we go along the riverside less o' things are likely to be followin' us!" Henk announced as he and Tiamat finished tying Kai to Fluffers so there was less chance of him falling off if he did black out.  
"But that thing took so many arrows, what makes you think it'd care about water either?" Creeps concluded  
"I ain't but it's the best idea I got!"

"If we head over to the mountains my house is near there we have a TNT cannon prepped outside, I guess if I pressed a few buttons I could figure it out"  
"Well that's settled, Most Rivers start in the mountainous regions so we can still follow along the water's edge"  
"Sounds like a plan" Tiamat nodded before frowning and Glancing over to Gunvor, the other Creeper waved the shattered arm of his Grip swearing he'd stab that 'ass of a zombie who ruined my inventions' or something of the ilk.  
"We're gonna have to go soon" She added "We have friends back at our own home one of them is injured they'll need our help if anything tries to crawl in there too!"  
"Oh, ah well which way is that then?" Henk scratched under his hat.  
"Doesss it matter right now?" Gunvor jutted an arm behind them as another mutilated thing crawled over the hill shovelling sand out of its way with webbed limbs and a limp tongue that hissed at them  
"Holy Dooley!" Henk swore and hit Fluffers on the back and pushed him forwards setting the spider off in a charge. Withdrawing more arrows Henk lined one up with the latest slithering monstrosity and nailed it right between the eyes. Like the last one this one did not teleport either despite the force of the arrow snapping it's head back, it was only slowed momentarily but it did not quit the chase.  
"I have an idea for that sssssonofa-"Gunvor hissed menacingly  
"Gunvor!" Tiamat snapped "Now's not the time to hold a grudge against these things!"  
"I don't care!" He slowed down and lagged behind the rest of the group as the land their feet trod upon slowly mixed with clay, dirt and sludge tickled by the lapping water. They stopped a few yards away from the water's edge to avoid a possible accident to their passenger. Gunvor dug his feet into the ground and waited for the thing to catch up with them, it's head now hung at a jaunty angle with half an arrow to show, paying little mind to him it seemed to struggle to decide where to go and swerved a little between the main body of the group and the Creeper.  
"Gunvor what are you doing!?" Tiamat shrieked also slowing down and flapping her wings she tried to turn as fast as she could.  
Gunvor ignored her and grinned evilly, his one functioning Arm-Grip sprung forwards grabbing the monstrosity as it waved over to them it wrapped around its chest and heaved the monster into the air with some effort as its wild thrashes shook both grip and Creeper. Whilst up in the air it was clear this thing had no legs but thin strands of dark sinew flopped around as it clawed for the ground. With a moan and a yell Gunvor toppled backwards his bending arms snapped under the pressure and the monster was thrown into the water where it sank to the bottom.  
"Gunvor! Gunvor! Are you alright!?" Tiamat squeaked repeatedly as she fussed and cooed over the creeper pulling him to his feet and wiping off the dirt "You're not hurt or anything?"  
"Damn thing BROKE MY OTHER ARM!" He escalated into an angry yell weakly twisting the torn metal  
"Yeah you're fine" Tiamat sighed; he loved his inventions far too much sometimes.

The water started bubbling and a garbled yell burst through as once again that thing rose in a horrible display of rotting flesh. True to its estimated origin the dark skin bubbled and swelled to the waters touch and blistering burns as it crawled onto land howling it would not stop moving. The water, almost acid-like to Endermen burned through it quickly searing off one of its arms the shrivelled limb was gladly stopped. The creature however did not stop.


	15. Monsters everywhere!

Severely incapacitated and wounded the creature still moved onwards driven by some unseen force, its desire to get to them had overridden anything else in its head. It had taken over five minutes for its skin to settle down and stop bubbling and the lumpy thing crawled faster, however now it was of no concern. With only one shrivelled arm at its disposal its movement was slow and arduous and it seemed incapable of going in a straight line anymore.  
Posing no more threat it was promptly ignored and was soon a speck in the distance as the group walked off paying it no mind.

Iron. Iron everywhere. Stacked high to the walls, spilling from furnaces it swamped the cave. The torchlight glinted off the metals surface; if it weren't such a horrible, possibly life-threatening situation this place would've looked beautiful.  
The flow of Iron had slowly dwindled Lanky had to go further and further searching for the ore, normally it's not difficult to find but as he harvested more and more it became rarer and rarer, the trips became longer and longer. He dare not wander too far off in the direction of any ores, he made the mistake of going too far one day and a horrifying bellow beckoned him back along with a warning hiss from something in the dark. There was almost no Iron left around the immediate area. He began mining other metals like gold, at first the yellow ore was thrown back in his face from the pit below but it slowly became accepted and he managed to satiate the monster's metal thirst with it. He was being weakened every day he felt weaker and frailer, it had been a long while since he had anything to drink and the only source of food he could get was either rotten flesh or mushrooms growing around the caves, neither of which were a good diet, both made him ill when he ate. It wouldn't be long before his use was at an end. Those things were doing his job too. He saw them. Every so often something that looked like a hand or even a foot sometimes would snake its way down an opening and drop Iron in many different forms whether it be bars, ore, blood soaked armour or even dismembered Golem limbs they supplied it. Along with pearls. He didn't know how many had been dropped but those things kept a steady supply of them, at least twelve pearls had been passed. Twelve didn't seem enough as she sucked the life from some of those too making more monsters aiming for more pearls.

The journey would've been nice and scenic if the monsters were gone. They came from everywhere, the forests, jungles, mountains. One even burst up from under the sand in front of them its large dislocated limbs flailing around as its loose jaw swung around biting the air. Henk loaded up some arrows and loaded them into the beast they did nothing new to this one either and it brushed them off easily, It seemed unable to coordinate a proper attack as it madly waved about attempting to hit Tiamat when she dove at its face stabbing and prodding it, the attacks only served as a distraction at best allowing the rest of them to get to a safe distance and carry on. Noting their motion it vanished beneath the sands again and tunnelled its way towards them in particular. They were only saved by an unfortunate accident. Panting and choking emanated from behind them as a plume of amber particles let out another Enderman she doubled over covering a wound on her hip and gasped for air. Tiamat was in mid-warning shout when the very thing she was trying to warn against burst out once more and impaled her with a dreadful shriek before withdrawing its limb along with the Enderwoman's spine making her body collapse in on itself like a balloon. With grim faces the group ran away again each trying to forget everything they've been seeing. Trying to ignore the twisted corpses and horrible bodily fluids coming from places it shouldn't. Even the sea wasn't safe as Henk spotted a group of Endermen taking shelter on an island surrounded by water hoping to evade them. They only managed to briefly gain there attention, their waves and shouts attracting confused looks, none of them could understand what the other was saying but the group refused to come to the mainland, it was their downfall staying on the island left them as easy targets to long limbs and sharp claws. Eyes like searchlights bore down upon them as the tallest monster yet peered down at them it's long stretched limbs kept its body far away from the water but the survivors well in reach as it gladly plucked them up and strided away through the water, with the group in hand, one of its captives attempted to teleport and it quickly put an end to the escape and pressed it's hands together, pressing the Endermen closer and closer to each other until they finally gave out and their bones snapped and splintered their flesh tore and was crushed into one another. Whether it was from general injury and weakness or the sight before him Kai responded to the mess with vomit and shakily hugged the whole of Fluffers and not just the reins.

Sparing themselves the ordeal they all looked downwards as they ran the increasing carnage making them all weak at the knees. The smell of burning touched them all as the forest set alight as if to say 'it can get worse and it probably will'. A tall stone tower became visible, surrounded be craters and a familiar tree it was a welcome sight for a tired Creeper who called that area home, the timing was perfect as the Sun slowly began to peek over the horizon.  
"Almost there! We got some shade you can hide under" He called  
"Well ma' hat does good in keepin' the sunlight off me but if you insist I suppose..." he half complained tugging on his hat Creeps aimed for the cave he lived in with Lanky as Cregg already swooped down into there having easily overtaken them by air but a rotting smell changed his course and he dived under the treehouse.

A little different than before, some of the speared heads and skulls had been removed as well as the leather hides stapled to the tree's bark.  
"Ew, what happened here?" Tiamat surveyed the mottled patches of grass stained with blood and ooze sparing a few glances to the one or two heads left hanging from the branches.  
"Eh, a warning sign to all of this crap happening I guess" Creeps made a small shrugging motion.  
"Lookssss like you guyssss were armed" Gunvor had been drawn to the TNT canon surveying the redstone "No ammo left though…"  
"What a waste we could've used it as well"  
"Use…" He paused "Of course! Henk climb up the tree!"  
"Uh, wha?" He looked up the massive oak confused "Why me?"  
"Jus' get goin'!" Creeps jumped up and down and began shoving him to the door  
"A'right A'right I'm goin'!" He shrugged the creeper off and clasped the rungs of the ladder. He rubbed his neck one last time and journeyed up  
"We might be able to ask what happened here…" Creeps muttered to himself  
"Ask who?"


	16. Delicious metal

The tree remained quiet for a while; everything seemed the same as the sun rose bathing the land in a warm orange glow. The Sunlight called out the daytime creatures and burnt the beings of the night, but this morning there was little to burn but wood. The towers of smoke could be seen from far off as the forest was swallowed up by the ever-increasing flames, forcing any forest dweller to have fled long ago. It certainly smelled nice even if it were not much of a good omen.

Eventually Henk came crashing back down again in a loud cacophony of rattling bones and muffled yells the last cow hide covering the entrance was shoved aside as Henk dropped out the doorway detaching something large grey and hairy from his head.

"I'm nots going! I'm nots going YOU DEMONS SPAWNS!" Shrieks escalated Causing both Gunvor and Fluffers to pull backwards  
"Shut up cat-boy!" Creeps kicked him sharply in the ribs silencing the shriek with his familiar voice  
"Oh... What's happen to you?" Kenzo slowly flopped onto his back and looked to the bandage around Creeps's middle  
"Not important" He waved his paw about making Kenzo look at each of the newcomers each ones face an indication for him to step further back and shyly rub his forearm "We came back here because it was the closest safest area I could think of!"  
"Wells..." Kenzo muttered and ran a hand through his hair flattening it down from its previously on end appearance.  
"Well what?" Henk provoked him further  
"Well. Uhm... Hows do I puts this?... I-i I've been attacked" He gulped "By monsters!" He revealed in a semi-dramatic nature  
"No shit Sherlock" Creeps snapped "What do you think we were running from? Tooth fairies?" Gunvor held in a smirk as Tiamat shot him a disapproving look.  
"Well what'd they do to you sonny?" Henk hardly had to kneel down to look at the tall youngster  
"Not much, A groups of those things cames at me from the woods they kepts throwings me about by my legs. I only gots away when a miners showed up he lookeds pretty angry and slashed aways at them with swords!" Kenzo weakly waved his hands about in coordinated gestures matching his words.  
"These things are spreading fast across the place" Tiamat said "We have to go"  
"What? Already?" Henk whined  
"Yes, Immediately! We have friends and youngsters back at our home and one of them is ill, if those monsters get there I shudder to think what'd happen to them! I can't just run about knowing they could be in danger!"  
"But there are otherssss capable of fighting with them! They're not in a lot of danger!" Gunvor tried to calm her  
"No no no! What if they catch them unaware and get in!? We could be their last hope! What if they've already gotten in!? Did you think about that!? No! We've left them all in potential danger we have to go back and help! Right now!" She squealed each line getting higher and higher, her wings rustling in agitation and eight legs pattering along the ground in nervous shakes. Gunvor rolled his eyes  
"Guesssss we'd better go, even if it issss jusssst to ssssee if they're alright"  
"Well I guess we can manage mighty fine by ourselves" Henk nodded and looked about giving them an encouraging smile or at least a look that felt like he was giving them one. It was a little hard to tell the skeletons emotions sometimes. Tiamat nipped a hold of Gunvor and pulled him quickly away if you listened carefully you would've just about heard a distant yell saying that if needs be they will come back to help coming from the rapidly disappearing figures.

Nobody had asked for its feelings.  
All alone in an endless swirling abyss.  
Freighting.  
Scary.  
Horrible.  
Many times it had looked at a sharp edge, or to pools of burning liquids. Many times it wondered how easy it would've been just to end it all there and then. Let every last drop of vital fluid drain or burn and shrivel up to the touch of liquids. So easy to have ended it all.  
But now it looked down, a single block of cool metal lay at its feet replacing the cool stone. Sacrificing a greenish glass-like pearl it channelled its energy through the trans-dimensional object allowing for an instantaneous transfer of power. Power alien to this world but affected it in the desired manner. The pearl dissolved into useless sand as it purpose was served, pale smoky wisps of bright energy descended to the metallic block and danced along its surface so beautiful and serene, the energy caressed the block, stroked it tenderly and lovingly imbued it with its brightness and faded away. As the light left it was replaced by a twisted face, contorted with pain, rage and agony. Letting out a deep rumbling moan it spun away from its own reflection, filled with self-loathing the visage of its own face disgusted it to the extreme. A monster. A cold loveless monster. Nothing worthy or special about it. Horrible. Ugly. A monster. A lonely monster. Words echoed in its head words that seemed to ring truer than ever. It was demon-spawn. It was hideous. It didn't fit in this world. It would never fit. No one will ever care for it. Love it. Hold it. Thoughts of sharp blades and burning fluids came back to it and the urge to purge the world of its hideous self rose like the boiling tears in its eyes.  
It's chest felt heavy and pounded weakly, a new urge rose desperately clouding out the other urges. An urge that did not belong to it itself but still guided it anyway. Crawling from its dark hole it looked to a glowing wall filled with special burning apparatus. Reaching into one it pulled out it's hand a moment later dripping with hot metal. This new urge liked the look of the metal and it quickly plucked this apparatus from the wall. A second growl emanated from it, but not from its mouth from its belly, raising its hand it paused for a moment hungrily eating it with its eyes. Unable to contain itself for much longer it rammed its face good and hard into the block and reared up letting the hot liquefied Iron pour over its face and into its open mouth. Greedily sucking up the hot luscious fluid it moaned with pleasure before grabbing another. This furnace had Gold in it but that didn't matter it still felt right. It still felt delicious and it guzzled up the contents in one wide gulp. Shaking and shuddering the hot stuff felt great in its stomach and it plunged it's hands into the neatly arranged piles of metal Ingots before shoving handfuls and handfuls down its throat until there was but twelve Ingots left and it's abdomen had swollen grossly with the digesting metal. It felt too good for it to care. The metal quickly surged into its body running like lava through its veins. It felt like ecstasy. The heat burned through it as it's stomach flattened down but the rest of its body began to bulge out. Muscles swelled under the pale wrapping known as skin their veins throbbing and pulsating with power. Power that tingled and shocked, power that rose and swelled in a glorious display of strength losing control of itself it let loose a loud bellow to the heavens themselves. It felt like a God.  
The urge that was not its own felt a happy urge now, glad to have pleased it's body. This urge wanted to make sure it was completely content and returned to the pit below. Advancing to the corner it picked up a cage and eyed the being that lay curled up inside. This body wanted revenge for all the suffering and this gave that vengeful urge it's fill, it's thrill. The cage was thrown, the body's cracked and strained lips pulled back in a smile enjoying revenge, enjoying payback, loving the feel of its soft flesh bruise and bone crack under the force of its blows. The usually sad creature chuckled enjoying the revenge it so dearly wanted for so many years. The alien urge returned tired of letting it play they wanted it to be more serious now. Dropping the cage it walked with thunderous footsteps to the Iron block, examining it the power had done it's work with the Iron block and the neighbouring stone had begun to harden and shine as Iron spread. It wouldn't be long before all the neighbouring blocks were Iron too. It would need more pearls to speed it up however but it didn't know how many it should or could sacrifice to this part of its plan.


	17. The Block that shouldn't be

It had only sacrificed the one Pearl. It now had ten left. Despite its growing Army the progress was slow. It needed energy to create more soldiers, and that required the Pearls which became useless afterwards. It needed Iron to increase its capacity for power, but had to sacrifice more pearls for its Iron-related plans as well! It held its resources in a delicate balance. Or maybe it was all fine, it wasn't sure it couldn't think all too straight. A dull thud greeted it, not wet thud signalling the delivery of more flesh or the clink of Pearls and Metals. Wood. Taking the wood its large almost metallic claws made short work of stripping the bark and dividing it up into planks which were then re-joined together to make a special table designed for the editing of objects in order to make new ones. Placing a pearl into each of the nine notches in the top it tentatively allowed power to surge into them and they glowed in response.

Henk rubbed under his hat. Careful not to let the sun's rays actually touch his milky white bones. It hadn't been long since their group became smaller and their supplies lessened. There was little in the way of food or drink  
"We never really stocked up on any" Creeps explained "We didn't need to stockpile we had enough for a day in case it was raining but I could always go out no matter the weather." Henk nodded. He should've picked up more from his place but considering the amount of monsters closing in on them he didn't fancy staying any longer or going back. There was no way of telling how many there were and how close they were. Either way they were going to have to move soon, the injured member of their party wouldn't get better without some proper rest of which sitting on a spider's back was not going to give. It also didn't take a doctor to know that wound was going to get infected sooner or later unless they got it some proper dressing, maybe some ointment too.  
"There's a smalls village nearby" Kenzo directed them "Not bigs but nots smallest I've seens. It should gives us what we needs and a safe place to rests" He kept close to the trees as did Henk, he found the shade much more pleasant to his bones, the infant Ender' preferred it as being up a Tree would make him just a little safer than on the ground in case of a monster attack. Creeps kept to the open more along with Fluffers, the spider was not small enough to keep well-hidden next to the trees and for him the space meant he too had an escape plan in case of monsters.

Lanky wheezed and panted. His body growled and groaned at him, he had been exceedingly lucky to have earlier found the chest of a Miner. Without even caring who it belonged to he dove in and stole everything edible. It was sweet delicious nectar compared to the scraps he had to find while mining for metal, something he desperately needed. Heavy ore pressed down on his back, now that he knew Gold was accepted by the monster too he was able to bring more back and avoid the poisonous glares he got when he came back with next to no Iron. With a grateful sigh and a loud crash he let it all drop to the floor and collapsed over the pile himself. As long as he brought the goods back he'd be safe. The bigger the stacks of Iron the better off he was. At least he hoped so, he wondered what would happen if it got enough Iron and needed him no longer. Or if he did not please it. Would be turned into one of those… Pearlless freaks!? the very thought made his frail body shudder. Clasping the Gold he quickly began smelting it and reached out for the Iron that should be complete. Only there was no Iron left. Furrowing his brow in a panic he was sure he had some in that furnace! Positive in fact! Certain even! His heart leapt in and out of his chest as no matter how much air he breathed in it wasn't enough and he breathed more, escalating into rapid pained gasps.  
All the metal. Was. GONE!.  
Only tiny little scraps remained, but nothing else had been touched or tampered with. Could it have been stolen? Who would've stolen it? Why? Why would they steal it!? He needed that metal to live! This was it he was sure. That monster would have his head off. Have his head off and fillet his body like a fish. Gut him and corrupt his Pearl. The very thought had already made him drop face first to the floor and he began whining and shaking. His legs going numb, weak and tense all at the same time and his arms felt boneless.  
Maybe.  
Maybe he was safe.  
Yes.  
Maybe yes.  
He should be safe. For all the work he's done. Safe. Safe. Safe. Safe. Safe. He chuckled to himself. Of course he was safe. If he were to be killed it would've happened ages ago he was sure. Of course. Yes. Safe. Totally. Safe. Giggling he picked up a block of stone and allowed the thin surface to drop beneath him and he fell right behind the pale hunched form. The form he would've normally passed by without thinking. A form that should belong to a small tiny child.  
The thick multi-layered muscles for arms this thing possessed reached forwards and clenched, thick veins swelled beneath the taught skin as it focused its might towards one object. Slowly it leaned back bathed in a purple glow sending purple streaks of light reflected off Iron spines protruding from its back. The device clicked and hummed. A soft gentle hum that brought tears and memories back to Lanky. He knew that hum since the day he was born. It was from his mother. A gentle tune she hummed, rocking him to sleep. When he asked she always told him what it was 'it's the sound of our people' she would say with a smile. The sound of our people emanating from a single block it's turquoise shine made it look like a giant Square Enderpearl with deep intricate patterns carved into its faces slowly emitting particles. The longer Lanky looked at it the more he felt drawn to it. He felt as it were pulling him in. It felt painful. It felt like this cube of Pearls was pushing on him. Pushing through him. Hot tears rolled down his face as everything span out of control, all from this block. Its weight felt greater and greater to him until he felt a crack. It finally felt as though something snapped and rammed his body with pain. Nothing within him had been damaged but it felt so. It felt like this blocks unnatural presence had torn something. The tear was not within Lanky but somewhere else and it shook him to the core. Or was it the ground that was shaking?


	18. The Village

With little to no forest left they had little to avoid other than listening out for footsteps, moans and whines anything that would alert them to an oncoming mutant. Kenzo was most nervous and scraped his claws along the charred trees taking some comfort in their physical presence. The village came up quickly or at least part of it did. The villagers had been busy and large cobble walls had been raised around the perimeter, the single small opening just two blocks high and one wide had an Iron Golem next to it, the Golem looked rough as the Nether beaten and torn its face was crooked but it kept a watch over the doorway before moving off. It stomped over to an incomplete side of the wall which had villagers and humans alike building as fast as possible to seal up the gap.  
"Looks like they've encountered these beasties to!" Henk remarked mostly from the Golems own appearance. It even had congealed blood clinging to a bulky fist.  
"They must've hads some injuries if they've beens attacked too!" Kenzo remarked "We can gets supplies!"  
"Yeah thanks for the obvious Einstein but mobs and villagers haven't had the best of relations they're hardly gonna just hand it over to us!"  
"Well it's tha' best we got!" Henk pulled up his trousers and lead Fluffers forwards in confidence. All he'd have to do is get past the Golem safely. With quiet and tentative footsteps the others followed in his lead, as predicted the Golem noticed them before the rest and spread its hands out ready for the offensive. Henk raised his hand above his head, he didn't tell the others but he hadn't met with a Golem before.  
"Howdy there partner!" He waved, the Golem was a little put off by a friendly display but it stood up straighter as if acknowledging the group as of little concern. Henk let out a small sigh of relief thankful that went well, maybe in future he shouldn't be so wary of them. The Golem let them approach but quickly side-stepped to be in front of them before they could even talk to anyone.  
"You! You lot down there!" Everyone craned their heads up apart from Henk who only tilted it trying to avoid the sunlight. A Villager or Testificate as they were often known looked down at them from a high part on the wall obviously being built out to become a watch tower "What do you want?" He barked "We don't need any trouble here"  
"Well we ain't lookin' for any!" Henk tried to bargain, however from the looks of them it was probably going to be hard to convince them they were safe.  
"What do you want then?" He asked trying to avoid letting them within the village walls  
"We got an injured plus no food for the living we had to leave in a rush! Uh, Monsters y'see"  
The Testificate gave them an odd look and vanished behind the walls. The group exchanged glances with each other apart from Kai who looked as though he was about to fall asleep at any second, although given his quietness he probably had been asleep most of the time catching up on many sleepless nights spent running across the land. A while later the Testificate appeared and waved at the Golem who moved aside. Taking the cue they gladly entered the walls having some kind of barrier even if it wasn't complete made the whole place seem a lot safer than it probably was. Some of the people working on the barriers stopped and gave them odd looks confused at why monsters of all things had been let in. A Testificate wearing a sash scurried over to them accompanied by a guard who held a stone sword tight in one hand they both eyed the group suspiciously  
"So you say… YOU have been attacked by these creatures as well?" the sash wearing Testificate asked keeping his distance he was still wary of them.  
"Yeah! One of them used to be a friend of ours not the nicest person but still a friend and this fella here's been mauled by them" Creeps gave the small update before getting to what was most important to him "They've also taken my friend! I havn't seen one of those things looking like him so I can hope he's still alive and Notch help me I'm going to get him back!" his angry tones were enough to make the two Testificates back off a little.  
"It would be of my opinion that these here beasties are targeting other Endermen" Henk crossed his arms and thought aloud "One o' them didn't even notice us when it attacked jus' went straight for this poor sucker, apparently they've been houndin' him non-stop for a couple of weeks"  
"Except they're not just after Endermen" the man with the sword butted him with a deeper more nasal voice "We have none here! Even that strangely affectionate one with wonky eyes hasn't been here for weeks! But we've still been attacked!" He nodded to the corner of the wall where a second Iron Golem lay. Dead. It had no lower half and a lot of its torso had been mangled and torn away. "Were lucky to still have the other one!"  
"I saw! He looks quites… rough" Kenzo interjected gaining the most quizzical looks off the men for his overly bizarre appearance "Maybe brutes force is nots how to fights them"  
"Then what do you suggest…" The armed man snapped before pausing and examining him a little longer, trying to figure it out but with no idea what it was he finished his sentence "…Mob!"  
Kenzo stared back at him and back at the group he hoped for a prompt, some kind of signal to help him continue but the others just stared blankly back waiting for him to give out his idea.  
"Gives us helps and some foods and I will helps make this place betters" he ended  
"Fine" The men nodded.  
"There's some lady by the name of Mell in one of the small cabins, she claims she knows how to help Mobs she can help your friend there as for food, you can have some now but you'll only get proper food once you've helped us.".

Natural light beaming down from a gigantic star in space. That wasn't natural here. Neither was the grass. Or water. Or clouds. A tiny slice of his home was elsewhere. Like a crack letting through light but in a strange opposite manner. He was not new to this place, he knew it was known as the 'Overworld' but he did not know why he was here now. He had not purposely gone through the magical door to this world. It was strange. Mysterious. Something about the idea of a mystery gave him a little chill of excitement! This could be fun! A whole lot of fun! Time to explore, discover and learn! Maybe when he got to the bottom of it he'll be back home. He could just go through a magic door but that would be no fun when there's a mystery afoot!


	19. Bigger and Smarter

The block pulsated with alien energy, an Energy that almost called out to Lanky as it did that caged child like the Enderpearls within it called to theirs. Claws clicked and clacked on the floor and a wide hand curled around Lankys throat and violently threw him to the ceiling crashing him back down in front of the furnaces. He wasn't free yet.

Cautiously the Testificates slowly brought out bread and pork from their farms. Henk surveyed the watch towers testing out how effective they were and the range they offered to one with a bow and arrow. Fluffers, now without rider, scaled the walls bringing blocks up to higher areas speeding up the walls growth. Creeps wasn't sure what in the Nether he was doing but he was tasked to clip TNT together and he was placed with sand and gunpowder told to craft as much of it as possible. Kenzo, well he wasn't sure what that kid was doing but every-so-often he could be seen going to and fro with Pistons and Levers. The wall was almost complete. Big and thick it would take quite the feat to bring it down. Kenzo wandered in to Creep's TNT-filled room he kept coming back for the explosives but instead he drooped over the edge of the table. He probably hadn't rested at all today.  
"I don'ts likes this" He slowly murmured  
"D'ya think anyone else is?" He smirked back not even looking up from his TNT making  
"No... No... I gets awful feelings... Feels as if someones is walkings over my grave..." He shuddered and his back arched with fur standing on end.  
"I'm surprised you even feel the cold with your natural fur-coat!" Creeps laughed  
"No... It happeneds recently, like a horribles cold winds but it sounds as if it's talkings"  
"Oh right" Creeps cocked his head, the feeling of someone walking over your grave, such an odd expression for an odd foreboding feeling.  
"Whatever you things have been doing it better work! There's a group of them charging from the south!" A villager yelled outside ignorant of his own rudeness. Dropping his current TNT block

they both ran for the door and jumped to the south wall through the iron bars they could indeed see a mass of the shuddering figures rolling their way towards the fortified village. Where ever it came from it had surely not gone unnoticed as arrows, swords, axes, spears and a variety of other weapons jutted crudely from the flesh  
"That's no group!" One of the tower watchers screeched. He was right for if you looked carefully at the writing mass it was not a group, or at least no longer a group. A group of bodies had been crushed together their limbs entwined into thick stumps and many flailing strands of flesh protruded from its body giving the effect of many when in reality it was just one large mouth on legs. Quickly responding to the Testificates voice and the thundering footsteps of the monstrosity the remaining Golem charged forwards and struck the thing head on, it's head receded into its own body as the blow knocked it's front half back but the momentum kept it's back half going forcing it to flip over itself. With a dull growl the Golem grabbed its top jaw in its arms and put its feet in between the jagged teeth of its lower jaw, strained whirring and creaks hissed out as it began to pull on the top jaw slowly bringing it high enough for the Golem to squat putting himself further into the salivating maw before standing up. Its clanks and groans were being drowned out by hisses and squeals as the Golem forced the giant jaw to stretch wider and wider. The jaw was made from the combined skeletal structures of an unknown amount of Endermen and the combined rigidity and taught muscles strained the Golems strength and energy. Continuing on like this would be a pointless waste of energy so the Golem went for another tactic, looking deep into the jaw it proceeded to ram its fist into the roof of the mouth splintering the top jaw like tree bark, with its fist deep inside what could be interpreted as this things head it began grasping as all the soft squishy innards and pulled them out emptying the head. Angry at its intrusion the creature wised up and reached into its mouth and tugged the Golem away. Smarter than the others it figured out what to do and wrapped as many of its spare appendages around the golems fist and torso before quickly ripping the limb off of it. Happy with the limb it did not repeat what the monster at Henks hut did and run away with it, it knew there was more and grasped for the Golem again but the Golem was no fool either and had retreated back towards the barricades. With inconvenienced hiss it threw its limbs out wards swaying its back and front half independently it was not losing the rest of the Golem. Hastily pulled inside the Villagers worked quickly with their remaining iron stocks to re-build and repair the still-active Golem. The wall cracked and rumbled as the giant creature rammed into it and sent tendrils grasping at the Iron bars Kenzo scurried over to one of the smaller buildings and with a chuckle he said  
"Nows to show you my works!" He pulled at one of the many levers placed inside the building lighting up a pathway of Redstone beneath the Village. A clunk and whir later some pistons had activated and the creature vanished. A small wave of muttering and confusion went around the village at its sudden disappearance. Not long after however the horrible smell of burnt flesh tickled the nostrils of everyone present, Creeps climbed the stairs to the top of the building and peered down. It was a simple lever-activated piston-operated pitfall trap; it had sent the monster plummeting into a deep water-filled pit. Upon contact with the water the monster had begun to swell rapidly covering itself in big pus-filled blisters as the water burned and melted its rotting body. Unable to take the strain its cold dead skin tore bursting all the blisters on its body sending a wave of vomit-inducing decomposition smell across the immediate area. In fact a lot of the Villagers did vomit and Creeps hung his head over the edge of the wall trying to hold his meal in.

Broken but not destroyed the skinless mangled wreck clawed at the walls of its pit. It still had a job to do. As did the rest of its kin. Slowly more edged towards its location now aware of the survivors.


	20. A little piece of Hell

The monster was safely trapped in its pit; its big limbs no match for the depth of its hole. A second tug of the lever pushed some pistons covering it back up again. The dirt lid helped stop most of the gross smell from lingering and freshened the air out a little bit allowing the village to breathe easier. Sharing thankful glances they were undoubtedly overjoyed at the success but they had little time to celebrate as another voice called to them  
"There's Lava spilling in from the West!" Echoed out around the walls, those who heard it over relieved chatter chatted further; there was no lava pool near them after all...  
Kenzo clambered up to the view post and Creeps ran with Henk alongside the wall until they met up. The testificate eyed them a little oddly before pointing to the distance  
"Over there, there's lava I just blinked and it appeared!" he gibbered; Henk took a hold of his binoculars and held them to his eye sockets. The man was right, in the distance there was a fountain of Lava jetting up a few blocks high before spilling back down to ashen land. Although most of the area around it had turned a dull dark red.  
"Is thats Nethersrack?" Kenzo squinted trying to get a better view  
"I think you're right kiddo" Henk muttered, Creeps couldn't see anything even when he squinted.  
"Notchdamn it I can't see a thing!" he swore.  
"Are those Pigs men!" Kenzo exclaimed, the testificate grabbed the binoculars back off Henk and looked back to the strange piece of the Nether  
"The kid's right it's a whole group of them!" he agreed  
"How are they and a parts of the Nethers up here?" he exclaimed again in confusion.  
"Who cares? Maybe those monsters will be far more interested in that than us!" Creeps snapped, mostly out of annoyance that he was being denied a proper look.

He had been to the Otherworld before, it was not new or shocking for him. He was interested in why he had been brought here so suddenly though. The best place to start looking for answers would be the one place he liked to go first every time he came. He levitated downwards focusing his land to one tree branch he enjoyed it's rough touch, he enjoyed the feel of many of the things here. Today this tree seemed strange. String was tied around the branches, at the end of the string Zombie heads were hung along with Skeleton skulls. He grinned a little bit half out of nerves at this strange display have with a little bit of joy, he guessed it meaned nothing much had changed with the people here and that was good, that meant they were fine. Going along the branch he found the entrance built for him at its base. His special little door for visits. He walked in instead of his usual float enjoying the woollen carpet on his toes, he let out a gentle coo as no one greeted him. Crestfallen he searched all around the house, even under the bed! No one greeted him or responded to his crowing it worried him a little. If no one was in here maybe there was someone next door. Maybe that could calm him.

"The Monsters are back!" Came a screech from the south-side wall again as more disfigured monsters of Endermen crawled from the ground and the forest seething forwards like a huge swarm of insects. Almost like Creeps had predicted one of the monsters burst into flames as Lava erupted forth from the earth accompanied by a small spread of Netherrack, the fire hardly slowed it down and a few of its nearby friends also caught fire. As they neared the wall Kenzo smirked. The opposite way, he refused to look at the monsters but instead chose to stare intently at the roves of the Village. His smirk was not wasted, neither were his hours of work. When they got close the monsters triggered concealed pressure pads and succumbed to various traps. One group was dropped down to a rare underground river where they were left to melt. Another plummeted into the waiting 'jaws' of a second trap composed of many pistons slamming together crushing their decomposing bodies. Some led back to wall mounted dispensers filled with potions taken from Witches, the poison potions had no effect on their bodies but the potions of harm did their work and sapped energy from them. The potions of healing did better though. One or two healing potions had been added to the dispensers, for the normal zombies that roamed the wilderness healing potions hurt instead of cured and considering the undead nature of these things it was worth a try and it certainly didn't fail. The potions healed the skin making the large organ tissue stretch and pull itself together, but there was not enough of it to cover all the extra limbs and flesh from their mutating so the healing skin driven by the magical potions tore further and still tried to heal, it broke bones as it smothered the extra limbs then struggled to repair the bone. It had a varying effect on the zombie-things while most suffered the same fate some had different afflictions, some healing potions caused a couple of mutants to drop to the floor and spasm with no control of their bodies. Others suffered rapid healing and their cells mutated out of control turning into gross swelling puss-filled lumps being crushed under their own weight!. Other traps however made use of Creeps and his TNT, simple traps, just a pressure pad and some TNT but it worked wonders the explosions sent the small enough one's flying into the air in a shower of limbs and guts.  
It didn't work as well as planned though… Despite the lacerations, missing limbs, broken bones, despite the swellings and lumps they still drove forwards. Only slower. Testificates, Humans and Mob joined the side of their Golem with weapons in hand. Even Kai came back with a splint around his wounded leg and sword in hand. Under any circumstances it was a glorious battle. The few fending of the many of the horde. Protecting home and family. No one bothered to remember their differences as Man and Mob it was just Them and Us now. Creeps looked to Henk as he fired arrows down into the fray fending off wayward limbs preventing them from hitting their mark. It was all good and well, but none of this will bring his friend back, it felt pointless to Creeps. He left the wall and hurried over to the main hut. Here he nudged Kenzo for attention  
"Hey, hey" He whispered "I'm getting out of here"  
"Whats?" Kenzo frowned "Why? We haves food here and better protections than if we were by ourselves!"  
"I know, I know" He sighed back "But none of this is getting Lanky back, It's all I want to do, Nether! I don't even know if he's alive! I just want to see him. To know!"  
Kenzo stared at him but eventually nodded  
"You're right" he agreed.  
"C'mon then!" He hissed. While the testificates backs were turned they both slipped out the door and down the gravel pathway. With both hands on the door Kenzo slowly pushed it open doing his best to keep it as quiet as possible. Out side they both hugged the walls Kenzo steered Creeps away from the traps he had laid. Heading over to the lava pool they decided to stop briefly and investigate this strange happening. It truly was bizarre it was if a peice of the Nether had just randomly replaced a part of the Overworld pig men and all. As they examined the borders of it they did not notice something coming up behind them...  
"HALT!"


	21. An Idea

It was with a little bit of dread that Creeps swore he could recognize that voice from somewhere.  
"It's that disgrace of a Creeper again. Hanging out with these gross zombies. It really is the right place for you!" An Enderman smirked, half his face had been burned but it was quite clearly the Enderman from the tribe they had encountered a few days ago. Or was it months? He had no idea how long he was out cold for. This time however he had come back with reinforcements an entire gang of Endermen with their claws flourished ready for battle.  
"We're here to finish out holy crusade in the name of our goddess! We are here to finally destroy that rotten taint which has been fed into the land for so long!" He clasped a hand around a Pigman's head, the zombified thing didn't even notice and continued its idle look.  
"Who are you peoples?" Kenzo stammered the might of the group far too overwhelming for his small singular. He was given nothing but glances. His fur, his horns, that tail. They curled their lips in disgust and looked away. They could hardly bring themselves to talk to … to…that.  
"You may not be our top priority but you may be a good place to start. After all…" He smirked further his brethren gleefully eyeing their claws "You did kidnap V'tii!" he yelled to the growls of agreement behind him "NowwwraAARGH!" he screeched dragging a Pigman with him his hand had been nailed to its head with an arrow, The Pigman didn't receive the majority of the blow but still squealed gripping to its broken sword responding to brief echoes of life and pain. Creeps couldn't help but sigh looking up he expected to see Henk riding his spider to their rescue but no such luck. Instead a rather dishevelled Miner with a scruffy red beard and a chuck of glow stone hastily taped to his helmet had fired the offending arrow  
"Yer rotten monsters" He yelled " You've taken everything O' mine and I'm gonna take it back!"  
"Get him! Get him!" The Enderman hissed sending off his troops to the human. Staying behind he glared at Creeps and Kenzo stopping them before they even started to run. With a snarl he tried to lash out but the Pigmans weight kept him in place, swearing under his breath he grasped the Zombies head and snapped the arrow out of it. The Pigman Squealed and thrust it's sword about wildly trying to hit its target  
"Aaah get off you foul excuse for a beast!" The Ender' yelled and pushed the Pig into the lava fountain. Bad move. With most of his tribe distracted there was no one to notice a deep rusty moan  
"Well shit" Creeps stated rather wide eyed. As if summoned by some unseen force a Blaze had rode up behind them it's almost glassy eyes glared at no one but the Enderman with angry intent. The rods circling beneath its head sped up before flinging out fire at a rapid rate hitting the Enderman straight in the back. With a howl he dropped to the ground and rolled trying to put the fire out but along a Netherrack floor it wasn't the wisest of moves as the combustible material also caught fire surrounding him in a ring of fire and screams only being drowned out by the hoarse breaths of the Blaze. Creeps nudged at Kenzo pushing him away, it was best they did not see how this panned out. Making their way past the booby-traps they exhaled deeply with relief behind the village walls. It was such a shame it had descended into chaos. The monsters had made their way to the wall and had begun pulling away at the bricks that made it trying to pry their way in, the fighters who had been on the front line had withdrawn to within the walls , sheer numbers wore down the soldiers for unlike them the zombies did not need to rest or eat, they got their energy from elsewhere.

A little above the commotion leathery wings went unnoticed, happily led by a piece of string it landed on the walls and sat only to watch instead of follow its friend downwards.

It felt utterly surreal to everyone. Zombies weren't unheard of, great swarms of them could come at nights and crawl into villages beating on doors hungry for the flesh within. Anyone would prefer that to this form of Zombie invasion, it seemed a whole lot safer. It probably was. They watched as through a broken hole in the wall one of the Zombie-things had lost all of its limbs and pseudo-limbs to the point where it looked almost like a normal Enderman but without any arms, but it drooled and howled trying to get in through the gap anyway. These things just didn't quit, one Testificate was down on the floor yelling as a severed head had sunk its teeth into his calf briefly before it was kicked off, and even then it slowly dragged itself around with thin strands of sinew emanating from where its neck used to be. There was another human at a wall, flustered he clasped a sword awkwardly in one hand while trying to cling onto a mechanical creation of similar size to him. The robot had many hands and tendrils wrapped around its lower half as the mutants tried to pull it through, seeing him in trouble another human ran over to help. Even in a crisis this one had still dressed snappy in a black suit and a black fedora-type hat he took the sword from the other man's hand and jabbed it through the hole loosening their grip on the robot allowing it to move more freely it also began aiding its own escape and promptly kicked as many of the creatures away as it could with its now free leg.

Kenzo screamed and threw his hands in the air, causing Creeps to spin around with a hiss narrowly avoiding his flailing claws. With fingers in Kenzos fur one of the odder familiar sights Creeps had come across presented itself to them. Only about two-blocks high it has the look of an Enderman but its pale skin and feet that never normally touched the ground told otherwise. Not to mention six thick tentacles lined its back in two rows and curled around aimlessly wondering the immediate area. Its sclera was as black as its pupils ringed by a bright red iris and it cooed with a friendly and welcoming tone.  
"Oh it's you… uhm…" Creeps slowed down he hardly remembered his name "…Jake?"  
"Huh, what?" Kenzo looked at him  
"Oh... Right It's uhm, Joe!"  
"What? No his names is Jess" Kenzo hissed  
"Yeah yeah okay!" He waved his paws "In case you havn't noticed Lanky is possibly DEAD!" He shrieked making everyone go quiet. No one was quite sure what to do. He was right their friend should have been top priority during this horror-fest but they had been too caught up to organize any kind of search party.

Creeps glared at the floor, stressed and irritable he had no idea what to do but he had to try something. He guessed he should at least apologize for being snappy and forgetting his name, but then again why the string. He hardly had a chance to open his mouth before he noticed it following it up he saw Cregg perched awkwardly on the wall top his head cocked in a confused manner  
"That gives me an idea"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad for uploading all of the current 21 chapters in one day but I thought I'd better do so because this story is on a brief hiatus!
> 
> Why?  
> Because I'm holding a contest ABOUT THIS STORY! :D  
> So It probably wont update until it's over ^^


	22. Jupee

"They've stopped attacking!" Came joyous yells and whoops of relief. As Creeps studied Cregg and mulled over his idea the Pearless moved back and slowed their attack. Creeps thought now would be perfect to try and see if the next part of his idea could work.  
Jupee slumped in the corner of a wooden hut amber eyes glazed over with a curtain of fatigue awaiting medical help. He had been teleporting frantically most of the day, chased by obscene monsters. He had come across a fortified village; while it was under attack itself it seemed the safer place to be and had hid there. He was stumbled upon by a testificate who threw to him an Iron sword  
"I don't really like you mobs being here" He had said "But if you're gonna stay you better help fight!" and with that Jupee had been dragged into the fray slicing at limbs, cutting at faces. Some of the faces he thought he recognized. Faces he had seen while travelling. An Elderly Ender with a snapped spine lashing out with the fagged edges of the bone, a child he once told stories to now with no face, just empty sockets and seared flesh. He ended up closing his eyes most of the time swinging blindly into mutilated mass of limbs desperate not to see anyone else he knew among the living corpses. He had been separated from the group and pushed to the edge as the mindless hoard focused its efforts on breaking through the walls. He narrowly avoided pressure pads on the floor as he backed away from the screeching mess. Panting he had turned to the forest and ran into its shade. Maybe if he ran now he could escape them. Maybe. But the people there needed all the help they could get and they had given him supplies it would be cruel to leave them. He felt torn. Fear of the deepest most primal kind urged him away but morality kept him close. He had wondered a little further into the forest to find an apple hoping for a quick juicy bite to eat to soothe his aching throat. He found more Endermen like himself in there. A few had curled around an Elder who was covered in burns, so much so that Jupee needed to look at him twice to make sure he wasn’t one of those monsters.  
“Hey you guys” He had called; he only received glares in reply. “Do you think you could help me?” He had asked  
“Go away” one snapped  
“Well I would but there’s quite a problem back where I just came from” He almost pleaded, maybe hoping they would join him and help turn the tide of the battle  
“Leave us before we cut your tongue from its hole!” They screeched at him making him back away “Go fight those demons” They spat “They will leave nothing but the pure! It is the will of our Goddess!”  
His joy deflated and he turned away. They were determined not to help. Their “Holy crusade” was too important to them. Although they talked about summoning their King. Jupee thought Kings and other royalty were rare nowadays in Ender-Society but if they had one, maybe he talked more sense than they! He shrugged and returned to the fighting, taking only a few moments respite in the shade of someone’s Netherbrick tower. Must’ve been built as a defence he thought. Running back to the fight he impaled what was left of an infant with his sword stopping its movement dead. Turning Jupee saw a black shape crawl in through a hole, one of the first to breech the defence. Teleporting inside he looked about for it. Spying a hole in one of the shacks he figured it must’ve entered in there diving forwards he ducked into the building to fight it head-on. The creature looked like an Enderman with shrivelled arms but its spine was twisted into an arch and thick veiny flesh bulked out its haunch for powerful kicking legs. It scrabbled at the furnaces tearing them apart spilling the burning ash and coal embers across the floor paying no mind to the burning coals. Jupee yelled. No catchy one liner just a yell, he needed to get its attention and he had run out of ideas. It tensed up and turned towards him, finally showing its face. It had no ordinary face; it looked fine if a little worn until it came to the mouth. Stretched and torn foreign flesh had fused into its own as it looked like a half-swallowed spider head but no eyes had been lodged in its jaw, shuddering at the sight Jupee raised his sword to it and it flailed stubby little fangs dangling from baubles of flesh around in its mouth and shook. The things haunches shuddered and tensed as it prepared to pounce. Easy tactics, Jupee could easily block it's leap. He just didn't realize what it would do next which was why he was here now waiting for medical assistance. It leapt at him like he predicted, a dark shady little bullet, what he didn't predict was how it was to launch its own head at him. Tethered by a tangled mess of tendons it's face sailed quicker than it's body and sank its teeth into his shoulder ignoring how its body was impaled on the pre-raised sword but its stubby little arms waved and flailed either way digging thin slices in his charcoal skin. Groaning he put his weight to the sword and twisted it in his sweaty palms tangling it in the creatures rotting matted flesh, He strained as his arm began going numb and the sword became heavier and heavier in his hands. Gripping tighter with his good arm he punched the blade handle jerking it to the side repeatedly clashing against the creatures spine chipping away at it slowly, hissing through his teeth he rolled over trying to crush it with his own body but the sword stuck into the wooden floor and finally cut through the creatures spine severing many tendons and veins. With its spine broken the creature opened its mouth and begun to struggle trying to regain some control over its body. Finally with an opening Jupee struck hard at each of its limbs letting them drop limply to the ground leaving just its legs attached he watched with disgust as it leapt to and fro without purpose. Seeing it could cause no more harm he shut the door on it. That was when he weakened. When the nausea set in, like his energy seeped away from him. Hungry and in pain he rolled on the floor sickened unable to move at all.  
So they put him here for medical attention. He felt cold and sniffed, oh great a cold? He rubbed his hand to his face wiping away all the gunk and sighed. Glancing down his hand was covered in a dull unmistakable fluid lifting his hand in a grim realization he had trouble focusing now but that was definitely his blood, gasping he felt bubbles rise in his throat and spill out through the gaps in his teeth, more blood, tugging on the wall he pulled himself upright and shakily whined his voice a garbled gurgle. The door slammed open and a Creeper burst in but hastily jumped back at the sight, his diamond helm reflecting a painful light into Jupees eyes, in his shock the Creeper yelled something but Jupee couldn’t hear.  
He groaned and grasped his sides as his lungs contracted and burned, he scrunched his face up in pain but when he opened his eyes his face didn’t move. His eyes opened but didn’t stop opening, his lips curled back further than they should. His body felt wrapped in cling film. Groaning he felt boiling hot fluid pour down his front as the tight feeling finally split over his ribs and tore. Then nothing existed anymore for him as in a sudden release of pressure everything within him escaped.


	23. Voices

"They've stopped attacking!" Came joyous yells and whoops of relief. As Creeps studied Cregg and mulled over his idea the Pearless moved back and slowed their attack. Creeps thought now would be perfect to try and see if the next part of his idea could work.

It was true the monsters had slowed down their assault. They pulled back and regrouped as if they had heard some unknown command. They milled about and stared blankly in various directions, with heads arched in various directions they listened to unheard words.  
Their lapse in their attack was as welcome as water in the desert. Testificates, humans and mobs alike all gathered around each other chattering eagerly passing food and supplies they began bandaging each other up. An Enderman bent over a testificate placing a square of wool over a bloodied eye socket and pressed it down gently, others began cooking meat to feed the weary warriors, even Kai reappeared but it looked like one of the monsters had been at his leg again as he struggled to stand without support and most of his leg was in a cast. Everyone was so relieved to finally rest after that horrific fight few people gave a damn about the dragon perched on one side of the wall nor its tentacled companion; in fact they even shared bread and pork gratefully to them. Politely turning down a share of bread Creeps wandered about looking for the least damaged person he could find. Eventually he tugged on some blonde guy’s shirt  
"Haven’t had your arms broken or anythin' right?" He hissed. The man looked at him a little shocked and confused  
"Uhmn, No" he frowned  
"You any good at piloting animals?"  
"As in riding them? No can't say I am..."  
"Bah! Is anyone here able to? I need someone with workable hands" Creeps nodded over to the dragon. If he hadn't known any better the man went paler than when the mutants attacked.  
"Oh Notch no!" He swore "Ain't no one gonna fly one of THOSE!" he began babbling about tales and rumours that had been spread about dragons in the Overworld. Creeps rolled his eyes and did the only thing currently available and kicked him in the shins finally shutting the man up "Heeey!" He whined "If you're really after someone dumb enough to pilot that try the hut next to the well! I saw an Enderman go in there at one point he might help you!"  
"Thank you" Creeps muttered in a semi-polite manner. But only after kicking him in the other shin.

He worked like a machine.  
Was this how Golems felt?  
He didn't know anymore.  
Sshhhhhh  
All he could see was Iron and Gold. Iron and Gold. Iron... Gold... Just metal... He felt like it was consuming him. He was naturally able to pinpoint any nearby Ores like he had an internal compass but now he just ignored it all. Gold. Iron. Ignore everything else but Coal.  
Cook it.  
More metal.  
More metal.  
More.  
More.  
More.  
Ugh.  
He was sick of it.  
He was ill.  
He needed help.  
Another block had been made the same turquoise colour, the same intricate marks and grooves along its sides. Purple particles dancing around it. Making them appear as if they sat on purple clouds in the middle of an Iron cavern. The Iron had begun to spread faster now with the second Pearl-block it was at the point where if you stared long enough you could almost see the Iron worming its way through the stone and Earth. The second block. It had given him chills to. An Ice cold headache pounded his brain in coordination with the blocks gentle humming. It’s tune had gained a voice. Or at least he could swear there was one. When all went quiet they were there. Small tiny voices, dozens of them, hundreds of them. All hissing and whispering incoherently in one albeit quiet cacophony of noise. Every time he sat down to rest his weary self they whispered and talked. Was he the only one hearing this? Was he too close to those blocks? Was he finally going mad?

Listening to the man’s advice Creeps pushed his way through the door and yelled in shock.  
The Enderman this guy was talking about looked at him with a glazed face, its amber eyes milky and despondent blood oozing in copious amounts from his face and shoulder. The smell was unbearable and Creeps scrunched up his face in disgust and watched through slanted eyes as this poor fellows skin began to shrink before his very eyes, tightening and tightening it slowly became too small for his body and split open but didn’t stop shrinking it kept going despite the death of the afflicted Ender until it peeled off in shrivelled strips. Creeps could feel his lunch escaping him so he quickly slammed the door shut and gulped in masses of clear air, he did not even check back on the Ender to even see if that’s how they were turned into monsters it was too vile. He felt sick and wandered to the well where he plummeted his face into it’s cool depths trying to refresh his body. A yell disturbed his brief moment of relaxation and he swivelled his head to see where it was coming from.  
A hut similar to the one he was just in was surrounded by three Testificates as something launched itself at one of them. Obviously one of the monsters had managed to make its way inside, but this one was different. It was just a deformed head pulling itself along the ground with long fleshy sinews; it was followed by two smaller lumps of flesh of which the two free Testificates began stomping on crushing the tiny bones of what looked like hands. Holy Jeb. Even the limbs lived on. Creeps shuddered to himself and felt queasy again as what could only have been the creatures body lumbered out on thick legs after its limbs. Missing a head and arms the walking cadaver could do little in the way of offense but rammed into everything around it with little to no coordination as it desperately tried to attack everything in range. The small head monster was still alive ululating despite being impaled and stuck to a wall; the determined abomination still flung itself about with vim and vigour eager to join in the trouble its body was causing.  
“By Jeb can these things even die?” Creeps hissed to himself.


	24. Retreat!

Unable to keep it in longer Creeps dashed around the corner and unloaded his previous three meals. At least the ordinary zombies were relatively passive and manageable but this was ridiculous throughout numerous breaks in the walls limbs moved with a life of their own severed body parts slithered their way in and latched onto unwary victims, stripping them of their flesh in quick sucking motions. The ground began to tremble close to the wall the ground swelled and eased like some gigantic lung lay just beneath the earth surface, the dirt and gravel pavement began to crack as dark thin tendrils burst forth desperately reaching out like a berserk plant grasping at rays of sunshine until eventually the dirt exploded outwards. That one giant thing from earlier had not just lay down and died in the water it seemed but had begun to tunnel its way out of there its obese scarred body rolled in a mass of its own flailing limbs as it attempted motion. The tunnel it left behind allowed for a flood of these creatures to worm their way in like one massive writing worm, no one was expecting such a move and many testificates and humans were trampled under the mass of limbs as they were hardly able to redraw their weapons in time too distracted by the tiny ones. They only paused their attack so the big one could make them a proper entrance. Something wet suddenly slathered itself over Creeps ankle, causing him to respond with a gurgling hiss that sounded more like a hoarse crepitate as a sudden force made that whole leg go numb leaning back on his haunches he hit out at it with his other feet desperately trying to kick off the dark black slug of a thing sucking his leg. It only responded by tightening its grip to the point where it felt as though his bones were going to break, forget that foot he could hardly feel it anymore, the appendage was practically going as dark as the thing wrapped around it. Drawing himself up a tripod motion was not easy but necessary he flung his wavering body round with his limp leg outstretched there was a momentary release of pressure as he struck the slug things against the cobblestone corner of the well. Wasting no time he clawed out grooves in the wells tip allowing for tickles of water to run gently down the steps, thrusting his leg forwards he put the slug thing in the way of the water. Its dull skin quickly rippled to life as the water seared into its flesh, swinging his body back again he swung his pained leg out again striking the slug against the cobblestone corner again but this time the corner sunk deep into the slugs flesh cutting through the weakened skin until Creeps could just about feel the smooth touch of the stone again on his leg. In two halves the slug finally dropped off, causing Creeps to let out another wavering crepitate as blood rushed through to his leg again causing a flurry of pleasure and pain. He wobbly jarred it into the ground groaning at the dull prickling sensation his aching feet reported, he looked back down as something squelched, that slug thing was still alive. Not wrapped around his burnt leg anymore it was obvious it was just an arm with tiny stubs where the Endermans fingers would’ve been, the length of this arm rippled with strong muscles as it slid towards him readying another attack. With a growl Creeps raised one of his good feet and stomped down on its slimy back, he almost slipped off its gross back but he kept going stomping as hard as he could until he could hear something go crunch and the tiny mutant monstrosity slowed to a weak slow wiggle. Too slow and small to cause too much harm now, the thought of having crushed one of these things into some form of submission sent a feeling of shaky frisson down his spine that he couldn’t help but release a tiny quiver of a smile at over his tiny achievement.  
“Retreat!” Was a word that soon hummed its way gently to his hearing tubes. Looking around he felt disheartened. He had really done not much at all. Much larger creatures loomed over the others who with their arms valiantly swung swords at the invaders slicing through the monsters dull flesh. Unlike him with no arms just lamely stomping on something tiny. A wall crumbled as an escape plan was initiated and survivors began to spill out through the gap, with a tiny sigh Creeps ran to join them in their escape. The invading creatures did not pursue them far but began searching the village looking for various items of which none of them were too eager to find out about.   
“Now, I don’t quite know what tha’ hecks been goin’ on with these ‘ere things attacking everyone but I know I saw a red-brick buildin’ off in the distance east-wards area” Henk corralled everyone around his spider, Fluffers  
“Who would build a tower of bricks? Especially around here with that mob of monsters here?” People murmured looking worried out in the open where anything could just swoop in and take them all  
“It dun’ quite matter” Henk waved his hands brushing off their questions, he glanced over to the lead testificate who had clearly had a fair few close run-ins with these monsters as his stained tunic barely covered long gashes across his body. He nodded back to the skeleton  
“We don’t know who built it or how it got there so quick, whoever may have built it may not be so friendly we’ll need someone to quick to scout it out for us” Creeps perked up at the man’s words and quickly nudged Kenzo, a moment with him alone would mean he’d get to ask what he wants to know. Kenzo looked at him a little blankly and his jaw dropped limply when Creeps suddenly jumped up from the crowd  
“Ooh! I can! I got four legs and hardly make a noise when I move! I’ll be perfect! And this kid is smart so if there is anyone there he can talk it out with them!” He continued to bat Kenzo with a paw as he spoke, still too confused the fluffy fellow let him do so with little complaint. The testificate mumbled to himself  
“You both have proven you can be trusted, we would’ve been forced out much sooner if it weren’t for your contributions, so, I’ll trust you, this once but you must be back within an hour at most!” he said aloud  
“We can do that!” Creeps smirked and pushed at Kenzos leg making him step forwards whether he was having second thoughts or not.  
Surging through the forest the tall looming tower cast shadows to the East, Creeps took a glance over to his partner who had abandoned his two feet in favour of using all four, his tail flicking madly trying to keep balance, if one did not know him personally his elongated claws and long quick bounds would have given him the illusion of being some great forest-bound hunter. To anyone who knew him such a thought was an absurd notion.  
“Now I don’t like spending a great deal of my time around a cat-person like you but you have better working hands than I do” Creeps began the sentence grated on him. He managed fine all his life with his four paws and his mouth but sometimes there were just no replacements for hands, it made him feel stupid “I need someone who can fly Cregg, at least in a straight line and, ah, stuff”  
“Waits and your askings me?” He squeaked “I can hardly rides pig!” he instantly looked apologetic to further his sorry excuse.  
“So!? I think Cregg himself will manage most of the work I just need a ‘pilot’!”  
“Agains, your askings me? Of all the things I’m more likely to makes him crash!”  
“DON’T CRASH!” He suddenly screeched at the fluffy child sending him into a sprawling mass of limbs trying to cling to the loose soil, which gradually heated up as it dropped off rather suddenly to a lava pit, but what was more worrying was the thing that had turned to look at them from the pit.


	25. Djast

Creeps had stopped well before the pit but Kenzo had skidded on further practically twisting in on himself as he spun backwards putting distance between himself and the pit. Hastily Kenzo dived towards the bushes only a soft pule indicated his presence. Maybe their presence had not quite been noticed by that thing below but it certainly made the tower have sense. No one had built it. It was one of the old abandoned fortresses from the Nether, that small patch of Nether-land and those Zombie Pigmen with their Blazes was not an isolated incident only here half an entire building had shown up. The tall dark Nether-brick effortlessly plunged into the lava below without harm and small windows were barred with brick fences that lined the tops of the walls also. There was an entrance, a small strip of ashen Earth mixed in with the maroon of the Nether-world, it appeared stable tightly compact between to two chunks of land it would certainly take travellers across it but not a lot at one time.

Now the only problem was the Ghast. Creeps had not encountered many in his lifetime but the ghostly shape was well known as tales were spread of the frightening creatures by travellers near and far, the squid-like thing was nestled in the lava, unaffected by the searing heat. Creeps peered over the edge to get a better look at it; the Ghast was not looking back at him but to his left, if it was even looking at all. A Ghast almost never opened their weepy eyes but were still able to see their surroundings, without a clear view of its eyes it was hard to tell if it had seen them at all. Its high pitched coos sent shivers down the Creepers spine as some of its tentacles bobbed to the surface of the lava and writhed weakly, scooping up small waves of the thick substance it bathed itself in the warmth rubbing itself just as if it were a human bathing in water. Surreal. It shivered and crooned in the alien atmosphere, if anything Creeps bit down on his lip as it seemed almost… pathetic? Sat drooped in this pool desperate to keep warm yet adjust to the new world. He sighed and nudged the bush Kenzo hid in and jerked his head to the pool, Kenzo shook his head in return, Creeps rolled his eyes and shoved him, he responded by waving his hands in coordination to his head shaking a clear ‘no’ to the idea. Rolling his eyes so hard Creeps momentarily worried they’d fly out of his skull but this wasn’t going anywhere. Sneaking his way back over to the ledge he watched the Ghast rub more lava onto itself despite it not doing a great deal of good, shifting on the stop Creeps shyly rubbed his front and cleared his throat. During the brief awkward silence he tensed his legs ready to run, but the Ghast had simply froze in place. It twisted ever so slightly its humanoid face half-covered in the molten rock and eyes still closed but it had stopped on him, it can obviously see him. Creeps trembled he was expecting that awful shriek Ghasts were known to make right before they set you alight but it made no notion towards him. Feeling a little more confident he cleared his throat again  
“Uhmn, excuse me…” he shuffled “Is this your home?” he nodded to the Fortress and watched as the Ghast turned slightly to glance at it then back to him. It sunk a little deeper into the lava and turned from side to side  
“No?” it motioned up and down, Clearing his throat a third time he stretched to his full height, even at roughly six feet tall he wasn’t impressive to Ghast, some known to be twice his height and that’s not even including their tentacles! “I… I am Creeps… I doubt you have… many Creepers in the Nether” he could hardly keep his line coherent as he kept making haw noises while choosing his words carefully, for all he knew this Ghast may have encountered his sister in the Nether or probably isn’t understanding anything he’s saying but it seemed to be stirring. Creeps couldn’t help but shuffle back a little as it pulled itself from the lava floating upwards it towered above him dripping glowing flecks. Out of the lava this Ghast seemed to possess two main elongated tentacles at its front, tentacles which it brought around to its front and tapped lightly together  
“Uhhhuuuu” it crooned back quietly “N-not many…” it hawed too “not many people talk to me…”  
“Huh! Oh you talk!” The Ghast nodded curtly before holding out a dryer tentacle tip, closer to this large appendage Creeps could see the tips faded into a dull grey similar in shade to some of the markings along its body. Looking at the limb a little hesitantly he too raised a paw and petted the end of it, he did not shake it this Ghast surely had the capability to fling him like a toy if he wasn’t too careful but at the same time he took note. The Ghasts skin radiated warmth from within, was smooth and surprisingly soft.   
“I, I am called Djast…” it whispered almost as softly as its skin felt.   
“What are you doing here, uh, Djast?” He tried to pry an answer from it, determine whether it’ll be friendly to the rest of the group or not  
“I-I don’t know… The Nether… My home… It’s covered in cracks like it’s just been shattered… Things fell through those cracks… I was just sleeping when when!” it seemed to get flustered “This light consumed me and the whole area I was in vanished!” its voice wobbled as it recounted the story Creeps nodded. This was the third-Nether based encounter today. It was almost as if the Nether itself was seeping into this world.  
“Djast I have something to ask of you” He broke a small wind of silence “You may not know it but we here are under attack. Strange mutant monsters have showed up everywhere!” He began telling her a condensed version of all that had happened, all the horrible details made Djast sink further back to the lava shivering as she went “In short” he concluded “There are people past those trees in need of someplace safe to stay. This fortress would be ideal! Not to mention the lava you were bathing in! A great defence!”  
Djast was still wary  
“I promise no one will hurt you. We have no time for hurting each other anymore”


	26. In the Fortress

"Oi! Fuckface" He swore. He never normally swore but it felt like he might as well just throw everything out the window, he hardly cared much at all right now.  
He kicked the bushes again enticing a soft squeak before he pushed the hunched furry figure out from behind the leaves  
"It ain't gonna attack us. From the sounds of it this Ghast is just as confused about what's going on as we are" Creeps tried to lighten the youngsters view in favour of the creature  
"I hardly had times to be confused" He mumbled "Kinda doesn'ts matter where monsters are comings from as longs as they are not hurtings you"  
The kid had a point. Creeps doubted anyone even knew where or why these awful things had shown up. Survival overwrote curiosity. Creeps knew though, what happened back when he first met those god-awful Endermen it told him there was only one place they could've come from.  
"Yes yes, were all a little worn out and confused right now" He waved his injured paw, it had almost recovered from being denied blood flow but was still undeniably sore "We will bring the villagers back but we shall firstly need to stress out the importance of not hurting the Ghast"  
"Are you sure we can trusts it?"  
"Why not? It doesn't have anything to gain from being deceitful besides I doubt it wants to leave the lava" Kenzo peered behind him and watched the Ghast briefly. Djast made no attempt to stare back but kept herself semi-submerged in the molten liquid; he shrugged his shoulders and gave in  
"Fine" he sighed.  
"Good, now you go back and bring the rest of the villagers, make sure to tell them not to hurt the Ghast, I shall scout out the interior of the fortress and check if it is safe" Kenzo nodded at him and slowly padded away.

He didn't only want to make sure it was safe he had something else he was after. Djast did not disturb him as he crossed the bridge into the old fortress. Mysterious in their origins the vast constructions were littered around the Nether as if an old society once lived in the hellish place. The bricks were so smooth and cool it sent a shiver up his spine, peering down the dull corridor it was nothing special at all just an obscenely long red brick corridor. The windows were two blocks high and one wide but were barred up with the same material as the bricks, they let enough light in for it to be easy to traverse but kept an awful sense of unseen terror from the looming shadows cast all along the walls like spindly hands waiting to ensnare passers-by. His sister had once sent him a letter from the Nether on an old piece of parchment, she’d sent the same to the whole family, but it did tell of the Nether fortresses, thinking back to what that old thing said it had told of how these places had a basic structure with little else but single rooms with fungi, stairs and more corridors. He kicked over a mushroom growing in the cracks of the floor the little fungi tearing underfoot its spores spilling over into a ditch filled with a dull substance known as ‘Soul Sand’ Creeps once heard an old tale of an explorer who had gotten stuck in the murky stuff and had been sucked down and suffocated by it. Awful stuff. Although now it could be made useful in a trap, he was sure those creatures probably wouldn’t suffer much without any oxygen but it would slow some of them down to an acceptable level. He bent over and smelt the Nether-wart another type of Fungi but only native to the Nether, there were rows of them over the Soul sand each surrounded by a heavy cloud of musky odour. But this was all just a distraction, Creeps sighed his interest in the stuff ebbed away and he chastised himself for wasting time but he couldn’t help but admit the delight of being able to push the thoughts of mutilated faces from his mind over something so simple as fungi, it felt relaxing, He’d spent so much time running about or cooped up in a hut making explosives with the fear of his best friend being in danger chewing away at the back of his mind like a rabid silverfish. All he wanted at this given point would be to sit down and relax knowing everyone and everything was safe.  
Advancing up the stairs one corridor was blocked off by a small Lava flow but the other two were almost fine and by almost he actually meant one had massive holes in the floor and the other had an ominous crack in the roof. ‘Oh wonderful’ he caught himself thinking. He chose to scuttle along under the cracked roof as the safest option. This led to another set of corridors, people weren’t kidding when they said these places were like mazes, one corridor to his left had a pale orange glow at the end of it. Mulling over his plan he followed this corridor. The floor was as cool as ever but it slowly began to warm up underfoot, he was probably over a lava pit but soon enough the sound he had been waiting for crept up to him like a ghastly choking vine. This sound he had been waiting for echoed like a hoarse strained moan accompanied by a rusty hiss, A Blaze similar to the one encountered earlier stood guard at the turn of the current corridor. Its orange head bobbed up and down atop a thin whirlwind of fire connecting it to the ground shaking up the air around it with its heat and smoky tendrils which branched out to floating rods circling the main center of the odd looking thing. Following its empty glassy eyes down the corridor it had fastened itself to three shambling forms shuffled about with no thought whatsoever their oozing bodies and exposed bones a testament to their undead nature and malformed hands grasped shoddy golden weaponry, watching them Creeps wondered if there ever was a time when these ‘Pigmen’ actually lived or were they always shambling corpses spawned from mutant pigs. To be honest, he told himself, if they were all alive once and living in an ancient society these old fortresses would make a lot more sense. Then again, why would they need to build fortresses and not just ordinary villages? Creeps shook his head it didn’t matter, if the idea he had worked then he’d be much more at peace with himself. Scurrying back downstairs he didn’t care if the clicking of his claws drew a lazy glance from the freakish Blaze, after a few wrong turns he shuffled out onto the bridge. It looked as though the whole village had come at once, although with the sun beginning to set it was little wonder why, a lot of them stared at him Kenzo had obviously relayed everything he had said and now they expected him to give them the ‘all clear’ while another group of them, mostly youngsters, peered into the Lava pit fascinated at the awkward Djast. Giving a curt nod he stepped off the bridge and allowed the first few villagers to hastily take their first few steps into the building  
“All clear for sure?” One asked him  
“There are some Pigmen up a floor and maybe a Blaze or few but they won’t make a move against you as long as you don’t disturb them.” He warned back before going over the small details such as the broken upper corridors.


	27. Ready to ride?

The sun set over the land bathing it in a dull blue glow as the moon showed its face. The large moat of Lava kept the fortress bright enough so that torches were not a necessity to be placed anywhere and everywhere. Without the large stars scorching rays Henk pulled off his hat and gently fanned himself with cool night air and his furry partner tucked all eight legs under himself and nuzzled up to the skeletons shinbone. Henk let out a hiss through his teeth and a couple of cracks from his bones  
“What’cha hanging about back there for partner?” his non-existent lips probably curved into a slight smile as his odd accented voice came from invisible vocal chords.  
“I need some assistance” He approached Henk further but not by much, like it was some creepy shady back-alley deal taking place. Henk was probably arching an eyebrow if at all possible.  
“Ahh look” He began to correct himself “There was an Enderman around this group, eh, once” he motioned a paw suggestively and Henk nodded sheepishly rubbing at his neck “So anyway even if you’re comparatively short like me you’re still, hmm, you still possess the quality I’m looking out for and no doubt you also probably have a spare saddle or two”  
“Oh aye” Henk finally turned to look at him full on with a gentle rattle  
“How similar do you think a spider is to a dragon?" He stated keeping his face as straight as possible. Henk coughed in a manner that resembled one you’d expect from someone mid-way through eating to make upon hearing a similar statement  
“Now what in the world would make ya’ wanna know somethin’ like THAT!?” he gasped  
“Look it’s of vital importance-”  
“So is helpin’ all these folk here, ‘cos if you ain’t noticed those things ain’t gonna give up! I can’t just drop it and leave!”  
“Look I know, I know, It’s just my friend remember? From, what, a few weeks ago now? Kept acting funny about you ‘cos he’s always had a bad time with Skeletons”  
Henk stared at him defiantly for a few seconds before bowing his head down “Yeah I remember him, no sign of a corpse when I came to investigate and found you in the clearing”  
“Exactly! If there’s a chance he’s still alive I want my bro back!”  
“But how do you even know that, all of them… things. He could be one of them!”  
“SHUT UP! He’s not! I won’t have it!” He screeched taking a few seconds to come down out of that brief moment he immediately panicked and tried to rationalise himself “Unless he removed his scarf then there’s no chance he’s one of those things, none of them wore scarves!”  
“It could have been torn off! You saw how those things were all swollen an’ misshapen!”  
“Geez, not with the way he wraps it around his neck! Tighter than a ducks backside that! Need some good effort to prize it off him!”  
Henk seemed to ponder the idea for a bit  
“The fella’ was pretty attached t’ that thing” He murmured  
“Exactly!” Creeps bowed over imploring him “Even still I have an idea of who might have a hand in all of this, by doing this we might also find them!”  
“Wait what!?” Henk immediately reciprocated Creeps’s earlier advance and closed the gap between them “Since when? When were you gonna tell this!? This is important!”  
“B-but I wasn’t sure!” Creeps suddenly found himself twisting backwards the looming Skeleton glaring at him with empty sockets “I didn’t connect it at first but a friend of, well more a neighbour than a friend I guess, She was acting all odd an’ freaky”  
“Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down there! Weren’t you asking if I’d seen some lil’ lady about somewhere, sayin’ ye’ were worried about her mental health for somethin’?”  
“Eh? Oh” Creeps calmed down a little, relaxing some of his muscles “Might’ve been… I can’t remember… If… Was I?”  
“Yeah yeah I remember now I sent you fellers off to see that bunch of Endermen I saw wanderin’ ‘bout out there sayin’ they’d know better than me”  
“I, yeah that makes sense… Wait a sec!” He finally remembered the previous days clearer “Then I’ve already told you about who I think’s involved! ‘Cos I told you she’d turned into a monster! So obviously with these new one’s about its clear she started it ain’t it!?” Henk opened his jaw with a click as if he were about to talk before closing it again  
“Ah, yer right” He slid his hat back on “Guess I just kinda didn’t think ‘bout that ‘cos people don’ jus’ turn into monsters but with those things ‘bout I guess I can’t refute your logic. But that still leaves one question dun’ it?”  
“It does?”  
“You ain’t been thinkin’ straight else you’d thought this too, what kind of kid knows how to create a mutant army of monsters? It can’t’ve been yer wee pal so how and where did somethin’ like this start?”  
The old skeleton was perfectly correct in his statement. Creeps had spent so long thinking of Nyssa as that awful swollen creature he saw in the clearing he’d forgotten they were once neighbours and had co-existed in relative harmony. Henk was certainly right, Nyssa was no biologist she had a good idea about creatures insides but that was only because she was usually spilling them but that was about it, creating a new strain of zombie? Nah that wasn’t her, she looked for challenges and new foes, yes, but she wasn’t smart enough to actually create something like this. He nodded back to the skeletons words  
“She didn’t make it, she was probably the vector for whatever ‘disease’ caused this, maybe if we find her we can find the source of all this”  
“Vector?” Henk once more gave the impression of arching a long-gone eyebrow  
“Never mind, but you see if you can help with this we can possibly find out more about it then that means we can probably fight these things off better!” Creeps grinned watching as the skeleton nodded seemingly won over “So ready to put a saddle on a dragon?”  
“I guess” He replied  
“Oh… Could’ve said something a little more, y’know inspiring or dramatic” Creeps stopped him “Were gonna ride a dragon off through monster infested lands and all you’re gonna say is ‘I guess’?”  
“I guess” he repeated with a smirk.  
“Ass” Creeps hissed back.


	28. Ride already!

Creeps surveyed the landscape. The monsters were coming.  
They had obviously finished stripping the fortified village clean of anything and everything they had wanted as one meandered unsteadily on fleshy stumps from the edge of the forest its head waving in the air as if tracking some unknown scent. The thing stood out clearly as its swollen body jiggled forwards and wobbled awfully every time it spasmodically coughed up a jet of blood staining its sharp teeth as it sprayed outwards through the jawless abyss of a mouth. It seemed to have sensed them and waved a stub of an arm growling as it bared distended claws on the other. However the as the moon was now at its fullest the night had not been wasted, the creature looked down as unlike the previous set of monsters who had attacked them it seemed to notice how it’s foot broke a tripwire but it was not aware of the consequences as a cleverly placed piston rocketed the deformed thing into the air and hurled it into the lava moat where it’s awful ululations quieted down to a garbled gurgle as it sank away. Creeps was not always friendly to everyone he met and usually did not care for their backstories unless they were friends but seeing these shambolic disgraces to the natural order made him feel awful, they used to be Ender-people, living beings with their own lives, friends and family. He shuddered. The same was probably true for zombies but they had been in Minecraftia for so long now everyone was used the their vapid green skin and sunken faces, It was something he had never really dwelled on before and in all honesty something he wasn’t going to dwell on much further.  
Looking behind him Henk was gently wrapping strips of leather around the charcoal head of Cregg the dragon, the beasts unfocused eyes seemed unable to focus on him it whined gently irritated at the thing being placed around his shoulders and being shaped around his leathery wing joints. Jess leaned in close cooing at the shiny buckles and neat straps being woven around the dull scales, every so often Henk found himself having to move the youngling away so he could get over to the different parts of the dragon. It was hard enough trying to modify a regular saddle for dragon-use let alone make it capable for two. Creeps abandoned the top levels of the fortress and wormed his way down the stairs shuffling about in-between the different people sheltering in the many pathways and corridors he had to side-step into one of the bottom rooms where he found Kenzo kicking some soul sand into the corner  
“I won’t ask why you’re doing that” he smirked causing Kenzo to shoot a glare back at him for the remark “Anyway just to let you know I’ll be going soon.”  
“Oh” Kenzo stared at him “You stills hopes to finds him?”  
“Of course I do! Don’t distract me with your pessimistic thoughts!” He snapped back “I have a job for you and I expect you to be able to do it!”  
“Wait whats do you wants me to do!?” He squealed unsure and unhappy at whatever might come next  
“Look coward, it’s very simple, you see those groups of zombified Pigmen roaming about? Just go and push one into the open, everything will be fine as long as you don’t trigger a distress reaction or something, it’ll go where you want it easily. Make sure one of those Blazes sees you doing it”  
“WHAT!? A Blaze!? They’re aggressives, I’ll be attacked! I’ll burn!” He shrieked poofing up the fur along his tail  
“No no no, have you even looked at them? They seem to be really quite placid at the moment; like I said everything will be fine as long as you don’t make the pig squeal” The kid still seemed uncertain and eyed him with that ‘yeah right, I’m not gonna do it’ look “Besides there’s plenty of people around! And they’ve been placing strategic wells of water just in case anything or anyone catches fire if one does attack you it’ll be fought off by the others okay?” Creeps smirked in his head, he knew that little bit of logic would bait the guy onto his scheme “So push one into the open or find one on the roof of the fortress and place a torch next to it.” He turned and scurried away as quickly as four legs could carry not allowing him time to refuse anything or argue further, he could only hope he will go through with it.

Up on top he found the barred walkway empty  
“Henk? Henk? Where’d ya go?” he called, now was not the time for that skeleton to be wandering off. Or be on another tower, Creeps pressed himself gently to the bars and looked out to the other winding pathways of the fortress where another, clearly skeletal, figure stood guard in an almost dramatic pose against the night sky its bony claws wrapped round the handle of a sword. Clearly not Henk, Creeps wondered if he’d ever see one of these things in his lifetime, a Wither skeleton, they existed in the Nether so it was only natural a few got pulled along into this realm too. He kept watching the strange stationary being, intrigued he wondered if it was hostile or not eventually the steady rattling of bones made him slowly withdraw his gaze from the mysterious skeleton, he would have time to learn about them another day, or at least he hoped he would.  
“Where did you go?” He immediately placed the question upon Henk as he passed the last three steps  
“Where’d ya think?” He retorted “I had te’ find somewhere safe to put poor lil’ Fluffers seein’ as I gotta leave ‘im here all by his lonesome!”  
“But there are plenty of people here”  
“Tha’s not the point and you know it ain’t” he huffed and quickly turned his back on Creeps reaching out into the large looming black shadow which started to twitch and turn round, merely Cregg hunched over the edge of the wall, his large claws had dug scores into the side of the brick walls and he irritably shook his back still displeased at the leather saddle adorning it nor the smaller figure patiently sitting atop his haunches.   
“That guy comin’ with us too?” Henk pointed rather aimlessly as the kid’s milky skin was blindingly obvious against the dragon’s dark charcoal as well as the steady motion of half a dozen tentacles  
“Eh, whatever I don’t even know what that guys after or if he’s with us or not so just leave him” Creeps shrugged a little indignantly, he wasn’t in the mood for thinking of others right now he was so close to executing his plan so close to rescuing his closest of all friends paying little attention he fussed around with nothing keeping himself close to Henk slowly forcing him closer to the dragon until he heaved on the reins forcing a pule from the dragon but making it lean down close to the ground. With a pull on the saddle Henk had to grip tight and close in order to get his leg over the big things shoulders he had to press his entire upper body to the dragon in order to swing his legs over. When the skeleton finally pulled himself up he seemed startled at how high up he was and looked around sharply his jaw hung slack. He slowly began fussing at his trousers and shifting his hip bones up and down trying to sit right on the new saddle, he stretched his feet up and out repeatedly trying to get used to the wide thing inbetween his legs. Shaking his undead rump once more the skeleton seemed to have settled and nodded to himself and took the reigns and rubbed at them holding them up and pulling them to the side slightly being careful not to actually tug on them. He seemed to smile and squeezed the straps of leather assuredly  
"Ah hem" Came an indignant voice and Henk swivelled his head round. Creeps jumped weakly, his four short legs not good enough to climb up on a horse let alone something larger and with wings.  
"Ah. Right" Henk murmured to himself a little embaressed and his spine clicked repeatedly as he bent down and grabbed Creeps roughly where a pair of arms probably would've been if his kind had them, ignoring the little complaints his spine clicked again as he heaved backwards clenching his grip on the saddle trying not to unbalance himself, he let out a mixture of moan and gasp before dumping Creeps's awkward form on the dragon. Rubbing at his back he kept his eyes back and watched to make sure if Creeps was settling into the saddle alright. He managed to fit his four legs into each of the straps provided as long as they didn't fly upside down they'd be fine.  
"Well? What are we waiting for?" he snapped with little grace "Ride already!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Pearlless" featured at the start was designed by http://pokegum.deviantart.com I'll provide a proper link as soon as I can get one.


	29. Find him

It was awful. Bloody awful.  
The entirety of the universe suddenly decided to dip and swing out of focus.  
The tower of the Nether Fortress shook as a minor earthquake randomly started and spurred on by the motion the slender sleek form of the Enderdragon slid off the tower lurching both its riders’ forwards in their hastily made saddles. Instead of delving into the deep Lava moat Cregg eventually spread out large wings and the membranes bulged outwards as they caught the wind and he swooped back up into the night sky. Henk tugged on the reins and titled Cregg to the side starting him in a wide circle around the Nether Fortress. The place was more alien and eerie from above a deep blood red blot on the otherwise pristine green landscape.   
“Now what was the rest o’ yer’ plan now were up ‘ere?” Henk called back hardly turning his head against the cold wind  
“Down there” Creeps desperately tried to call through it, internally cringing every time he opened his mouth letting vast gulps of icy cold air in  
“Down where!?” Henk yelled back, Shuffling in the saddle Creeps did his best to push his body forwards and craned his neck close so that he was almost burying it into the skeletons shoulder blade  
“The pigs!” He yelled “Make him go to the pigs! Along the open top pathway!”  
“Those!?” Henk finally turned his head a little further to ensure his voice was carried over to the Creeper, he had to take one hand of the reins to grip onto his hat pushing it down tightly over his cranium  
“Yes! Get him there!” he squawked, it didn’t matter if Kenzo had pushed them out, it shouldn’t matter too much anyway he was almost certain he’d get the reaction he wanted either way. Cregg’s long slender neck turned before the rest of him and the steady beat of his wings skipped a beat then changed tempo as he curved gently downwards. Nudging the back of Henk he pulled the reins again swerving the beast a little to the left, one of the corridors spearing out from the central pathway of the Fortress had had its roof stripped from it and most of its walls had crumbled away, teetering next to a slow molten dribble of Lava gentle snarls escaped long dead throats as the large porcine zombies gripped their swords as if frozen from a battle long since forgotten. Swooping close Creeps knew it’d only be a matter of instinct for their great dumb steed to lash out at them believing them to be its usual living food source, Clenching his eyes shut he wasn’t looking forward to yes there it was that god-awful noise that loud deafening squeal as the oversized pig was snapped up by large jaws, jerked off the ground it dropped its sword and screeched it’s unbeating heart out  
“We got one! We got one! Eh… What did we even need this for?”  
“Soosh! Don’t let him eat it!” Creeps snapped and pushed into Henks spine making him tug on the reins again pulling Creggs head back his snarled displeased letting the pig slip from his salivating jaws Creeps yelled a pre-emptive screech as the zombie tumbled from the dragons serrated teeth only for it to be cut short into a sigh as it’s tattered rags remained snagged in the dragons jaws. The sudden motion and notion of falling raised another piercing wail from the zombie echoing around the immediate area he earned a low rusty wheeze  
“That’s what we want him for!” Creeps joyously laughed, Henk not so much. The repeated squeals had caught the attention of the now ignited towers of fire heading towards them  
“Blazes!? What in the Nether are we doing luring Blazes!?” He mostly gasped eagerly snapping at the reins trying to force some speed into the slow beast “They’re gonna char us!”  
“Not if we keep ahead!” he laughed back “Now hit him!”  
“What!?”  
“You heard me! Hit the dragon!”  
“But why!?” Henk hardly took his empty eye sockets off the Blazes who drew trails of smoke in the air as they sped along in hot pursuit, three of them in total.  
“You hit him, he’ll hurt, he’ll wanna go back home to where he gets his comforts from and that will be off the guy who raised him! He’ll want his ‘mommy’ to clean his wounds off for him won’t he? Just like every other animal he’ll run off back to the nest to have his wounds licked clean”  
“Well yeah that makes sense, but how in the world do you know he’s gonna go searchin’ out your buddy!? He might just turn right around and chuck us off! Even if he don’t how the heck is he gonna find him!?”  
“I’m counting on the one thing I’ve tried not counting on for a long while”  
“Whats that?”  
“The fact this dragon is bloody moron!”  
“And I hope your bloody moronic plan is gonna work, else it’s a long drop back down for us!” He sighed reaching up to his back he pulled an arrow from his quill but left the bow wrapped around himself. His free hand gripped the reins tight and he angled the sharp flint tip of the arrow down, he drew it up and attempted to stab it down but he faltered and muttered odd noises to himself before holding it closer to the drakes scales he decided against stabbing and directed it against the flow of the scales levering it underneath the many tiny scale plates powerful muscles twitched underneath them in a subconscious movement. Henk left the arrow stuck in there and returned to the issue of the reins he decided simply holding onto them wasn’t enough and he wrapped it tightly around his lower arm instead. He swivelled his skull back again and gave a look to the Blazes, they formed an fiery arrow shape in the sky and the point was slowly gaining on them, he then turned back down to Creeps who snarled at him  
“If I had working arms I would’ve rammed that thing in for you by now!” He hissed in a menacing manner and Henk nervously ran his finger through the cloth round his neck and placed the palm of his hand over the feathered pulling back he turned his gaze away from it and slammed down as hard as he could slamming the arrow in right up to the base of the feathers! Almost immediately it was pushed back out a couple of inches as a high reaching short-lived jet of pale purple blood hissed out coinciding the long deep bellow from in front of them which cracked up into a high pitched screech as the entire body lurched and shook. Cregg mewled pitifully and beat his wings faster than before.


	30. Didn't work

It was one of those events where you would expect to be on top of the world. A moment where you would feel invincible, ecstatic, amazed and a variety of other exciting feelings at once. After all you were soaring higher than a kite, bathed in a cool blue glow with cool winds caressing softly at your face proudly atop a charcoal beast whose silent leathery wings powered it stealthily through the air almost invisible to those below at night. Yet that was the point, those below, soaring upon a magnificent dragons back did not make you feel giddy with excitement allowing you to finally crack the smallest of smiles, whenever you calmed and began to feel better you were suddenly aware of your surroundings again. Every time you tried to block them out even for a moment it was like the world descended into darkness again and the muffled sounds from below echoed stronger. For YOU were safe up in the air YOU were sailing much faster than any grounded being below you and YOU were not being assaulted by twisted macabre beasts of which no one had ever fathomed before. So instead you frowned, etching deep furrows into your forehead.  
Creeps slowly leaned to the left and peered over the edge as a muffled yell quickly faded away. They were above a forest now and another yell quickly arose as you sailed over head, from the blurry sight you caught it looked like someone was caught between two monsters and to put it lightly each monster went home with a piece of him. He frowned further. And turned around, three glowing sparks of bright orange flame confirmed the Blaze were still on your tails but they seemed further away now. Shuffling again in his makeshift saddle he nudged the back of Henk and he looked back, a slow and gentle motion which gave the illusion of sleepiness the skeleton understood what was being asked of him and gripped a wooden stick, the arrow, still embedded in dark purple-stained scales and gently pushed down on the implement pushing up a chunk of skin and calling forth a lazy trickle of blood. Cregg made a high pitched whine and shook his head clenching his shoulder muscles up tight; the sudden motion brought out its desired effect and caused the zombie to utter another panicked squeal. That should speed those Blazes up.   
"Can I ask... What's wit' the pig and the Blaze-guys?" Henk drawled out in his thick accent  
"I don't know… I think they just protect those fortresses and there inhabitants I guess… Maybe they take pity on the Pigmen… things… I'm not sure I've heard of some that can talk and stuff so I reckon they just look after these zombies for some reason" Creeps droned back  
"Well how'd ya' figure that one out?"  
"I saw a Blaze kill an Enderman for attacking one and I hoped that other Blazes would do the same"  
"Ah 'kay … Now when you say it killed some guy and you wanted to see if others would, ah, do the same you didn't mean you were hopin'"  
"Pfff no, does everyone think I'm an idiot?"  
"Possibly"  
"Oh thanks!" he snorted allowing himself a rather hollow chuckle, one that slowly became a nervous titter turned sigh.   
"Don't this place seem a little familiar to you?" The skeleton rubbed his fingertips together frowning at the sky and landscape  
"No wh-" He cut himself off with a yelp as Cregg took a dangerous nosedive and started skimming the top of the tree branches, some of the smaller taller twiglets became dangerously sharp and fast as they snapped over the edge of his wings.  
"Ah crap!" Creeps swore "He's gone back home!" Henk was right and he did recognise this place now he was closer to the ground the trio were speeding back home, the large tree house occupying the space in front of a small mountain-based cave loomed over the edge of the forest. Creeps sighed, it had been worth a shot, his paws gently clenched the saddle straps as Cregg slowed to a stop keeping his shoulders elevated with beating wings but everything else hung limp as did his head peering into the cave. Eventually all four paws pattered to the ground and the dragon snaked his head into the mouth of the cave, his eyes glowed gently in the darkness as the lamps along the cave walls stayed off. Henk looked back to Creeps hoping he'd be given a clue or a sign of what to do next or if there was a possibility of a plan B but Creeps kept a hollow look. He'd lived in this cave with his best friend-turned-roommate for most of his life now. The floor was comprised of Lapis blocks mostly for aesthetics but it was just a gloomy hall way now, chests lined the sides of the cave filled with odds and ends gathered from their many times out and about, they framed the pathway down nearer the end of the cave where the back end had been converted from stone to wool with blankets and fabrics left all over the floor. Ever since Cregg had been brought home and raised here the dragons' bed had started out like a normal pet bed but he grew quick and it took over where he had slept and eventually where Lanky slept. It didn't seem like much of a change they ended up abandoning beds and just slept with the dragon, using him a giant radiator. 'Good times' he found himself mumbling quietly to no one in particular swaying gently from side to side with the motion of their steed, Cregg seemed to be fond of such memories and pawed around the fabric cushioning of the floor. Henk made a hand motion quizzical as to whether they should dismount the dragon or not, Creeps did his best to make a shrugging motion or at least something to symbolise that he both didn't know nor did he care. He struggled to pull his feet up and out of the straps; they were designed to keep him tied down safe to the saddle but not this well he made small disgruntled hissing noises as he tried repeatedly to pull his numb legs out from underneath himself sitting down for so long on an awkward leather seat was really trying his patience. So was Creggs reversing, the great beast almost seemed shocked to both remember and realise he had potential food hanging from his mouth by a thread and had promptly started backing up trying to scrape the vapid thing from his mouth, even Henk had decided to just sit back down rather than jump off the moving animal.  
"Aah crap" he sighed  
"Wha- AH SHIIIiii-" Creeps screeched out the end of what was supposed to be an ask as the dumb beast backed straight out of the cave and into the open. Right beneath the three Blazes whom eagerly shot out fire at them, only narrowly avoiding the Creepers face but still singing a dark mark across his cheek.


	31. Blaze attack

He couldn’t help but scream as he felt the intense heat strip a bloody gash into his cheek so hot his own blood felt ice cold as it seeped from the charred opening. Henk found himself wailing in no time, despite the projectile missing him its trail of ash and embers set one of his gloves alight and he desperately grabbed and beat his own arm trying to knock out the tiny beginnings of flames. Not entirely oblivious the slow-ticking brain of Cregg eventually clicked into place that the fire spreading near his feet was not from his own gullet and in a muscle straining motion he snapped back in on himself sailing backwards in an awkward leap. Splayed wings slapped at the air summoning dark swirls of smoke and ember as natural instincts twisted the dark powerful body in on itself desperately putting distance between it and the fire, but by now the Blaze had formed a ring around them forcing the dragon up into the air if it wanted any chance of escape. Being led straight up was what they expected and the Blaze's launched more fiery projectiles upwards the rods orbiting their bodies, speeding up with each projectile formed, formed trails of light as they glowed with energy. Henk could hardly control the beast, the wailing dragon threw itself around in the air dipping and swerving around vollies of fire mewling as each time he turned another Blaze's fire surged tediously close to its body the trail of ember licking greedily at its scales sending them into retreat. The Blazes emitted deep rusty gasps and groans as they floated upwards on a cloud of smoke trailing after their target they did not care for the two on its back who desperately clung to each other and the dragon struggling not to be thrown off the bucking thing, they only cared enough to throw more fire in its direction causing it to swerve sharply almost throwing its passengers off.  
Henk angrily yelled flailing his hands, he needed both to operate his bow but he needed at least one to hold on and not be thrown away, but at the same time he also needed some kind of distraction to stop the rain of fire drizzling over them. He finally fumbled with the bow in one hand trying to pull it off over his head but he just stuck his own neckerchief into his face enticing more curse words as he struggled through his visual impairment. Angrily he waved his hands again searching for something to get a grip on and stabilize himself but ended up swinging his hand down on the half-embedded arrow snapping it in a tiny poof of splinters causing him to yell automatically despite the danger being minimal. The arrow head however pushed its way back through the skin again sending a thunderous spasm down Cregg’s spine and he flailed mid-air piercing the ears of all those close enough with a terrible screech, without looking he swung his tail slamming a circling blaze square in the head with its sharp tip sending it crashing down with an almighty clatter. It wasn’t deterred and soon floated back into the air ignoring the Pigman who also finally went down; the cloth caught in Creggs’ mouth finally gave way and the zombie was released but no one paid it any mind. Another Blaze got knocked back as it collided with a leathery wing and tumbled away, the last was slammed to the ground as a thick horned skull collided with it scuffed with dirt and ash the dents in their faces was only covered by a look of rage glaring from each of them. Henk panicked he had no clue what to do next and was facing imminent incineration hissing through his teeth he slapped Cregg with the reins forcing what sounded like a whip cracking noise as the leather slapped against scales and fear lined the rims of his eye sockets as he dug his heels into Creggs ribs eliciting a low moan but got what he was after as the dragon pushed forwards ignoring the aggravated groans and gasps from behind but Henk slammed harder with the reins doing his best to force the dragon to go faster. It didn’t matter they had lost their bait now the Blaze had been hit they will followed for as long as it takes until they got their own retaliation.  
Creeps did not offer him any words or sharp remarks as the reins cracked against tough scales, Henk only had half of a glove burnt away but Creeps let out muffled whines and whimpers layered with a scent of musty salt as pained tears dripped over his blacked cracked skin freezing that side of his face in agony, even if he did want to move it said charred skin pulled taught over his cheek and threatened to split with any careless motion. If it wasn’t for the helmet he wore the fire may have stripped skin all along the side of his head. A lucky escape if not the best a person could’ve hoped for in a situation like this.  
Cregg watched the air in front of him in an uneasy fashion, considering his known intelligence there probably wasn’t much going through his head right now although he wavered from side to side as if struggling to detect something.

He had only just blinked.  
He could’ve sworn it was all stone.  
Certainly not anymore it wasn’t.  
He had turned his back for all of two moments and the entire lower portion of the walls had become Iron tinted with the rarer Gold around the edges.  
It was crazy.  
Or maybe he was crazy.  
He couldn’t quite tell.  
The voices said he was crazy.  
He didn’t listen to them though. There were too many voices and they were hard to make out at the best of times. They seemed busy talking amongst themselves rather than to him anyway. He preferred it that way anyway, bunch of no good disembodied voices, who did they even think they were anyway?!  
Lanky ran his claws over the wall and the high pitched scraping noise it gave back out left no doubt this was clearly metal. It was clearly metal that had spread halfway up some of the walls already. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes; he looked up to the tiny hole in the roof letting down a shaft of gentle blue light from the moon and stars. Lanky’s heart felt heavy and he slowly became aware of how small the cave was, how tiny it felt, how closed off it was. How long had it been since he had felt the breeze on his skin or grass between his toes. Could he even bare to look out at the sunlight anymore? His chest felt tight and cold, his spine began throbbing angrily at him, how long had it been since he even bothered to stand upright? Letting out a soft grunt he tried to stretch upwards but his entire back swelled with a hot flush of pain and he crumpled back over again with a defeated mewl. All the digging and mining he had done he was pretty sure the entire area was void of Coal, Iron and Gold anymore; in fact the entire place was probably shaped entirely different with all the rearranging and digging he had done trying to get at the life-saving ore. Oooh his headache was getting worse now! If only those voices would shut up! Why wouldn’t they shut up? Just for a while! Why were they so excited? Couldn’t he just rest for a little while? Maybe a short nap would ease him and possibly settle his stomach as it churned fussily as he ate another meal of mushrooms with a side order of moss.


	32. Best frieeeeeeeeeeend

Even standing up was beginning to hurt now. His feet were slowly swelling and his toes were going numb. Patches of thick cracked skin lined the base of his feet and the softer skin ballooned outwards with pale grey blisters. He had been forced to his hands and knees. Was this how those monsters felt? Moody and cantankerous he was forced into an awkward shuffle across the ground like a deformed spider but his feet just couldn’t handle his weight, not right now not without any proper food at least just something to get his strength up.  
A low guttural mutter drew his gaze downwards and he decided against better judgement to take a peek. It might take his mind off of his pain or make him void his gut either way he might feel a little better. Pulling himself over he wrapped his claws around the edge of the hole he had fallen down earlier, rubble now turned metal plates created a low slope down to the next level. It was not huge but it was bigger than where he resided, grooves in the walls hinted at the activities below as something had seemingly chipped away at the walls and ceiling, to make grooves like that it must’ve been pretty big. Along the metal floor he spied that block again, shiny and turquoise it still leaked a purple gas-like aura as if the block itself were bleeding, but now it was joined by three other blocks and had been nestled in a gross pedestal of someone’s twisted corpse bent backwards like a table intertwined with other corpses but with flesh reaching out like little fingers grasping these strange blocks delicately. The longer he stared at the blocks the more his vision warped playing tricks and blurring his view it almost made it look like there were figures in the curling smoke their indistinct bodies blocking the smokes path but immobile as the glow wrapped and coiled around them. Those voices seemed a little more agitated now, was it possible that these blocks spoke? They were made out of the pearl-like core of his species were these voices those of the dead all pushed into this one block? Was that even possible? A low hiss reminded him he wasn’t meant to be drowning himself in the strange aura of these blocks; he almost had to physically pull his face away to turn away from those things and the low rumbling cacophony of indistinct voices it presented. To the wall a familiar face glared back at him, it took him a few moments to put the face to its familiarity but it snapped back with a horrible feeling that made him want to turn away from the xenophobic child. Lanky had almost forgotten all about this child, V’tii or whatever it was, and his tiny little cage of a prison. His small body looked dishevelled as well and various cuts and bruises marked his body to the point of making the small scar over his eye seem insignificant. It was probably harder for him to get food as he was still caged, but tighter than before now. The gold bards that had imprisoned him before now clung tightly to his skin as they fused into the metal walls suspending him a good two feet from the ground, his left arm was held outwards at an odd angle as metal strips around his wrist held it down tight, but his head was free to move and he had thus far kept perfect eye contact with Lanky and there was nothing good looking at him  
“Satisfied?” he hissed, voice gravely and dry “Your kind” he spat “They’re all the same. You’re not right”  
Lanky could only cock his head to the side, wiping dirt onto his cheeks. It had been a long time since he cleaned his now fairly tattered scarf. He wanted to say something back but his mind could hardly comprehend why this young child insulted him despite the fact he was the only other non-monster there. It was stupid and infuriating. Lanky furrowed his brow and the kid stared bleating more insults at him, most were downright obscene some were simply so asinine they only could’ve been spoken by a young child believing they were offensive. With a twitch he felt himself motion to shut the child up and before he was noticing what he was going he placed two fingers over the child’s mouth and stroked at his chin with his free finger.  
“H-h-hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” He drawled out long and high staring intently back into those misty green eyes “You’re my friend noooooow! Aren’t yooooou!?” Lanky couldn’t even hear his own voice as it escalated repeatedly into a high pitched whine as he spoke “Yooooooooooou have no chooooooice!” He giggled. V’tii glared at him intently with a look suggesting he was crazy. This was observation probably quite accurate right now. Lanky drew his free hand up the child’s chest trailing along the visible ribs; the tips of his claws were jagged and uncared for, his hand drew four thin lines across the little body each slowly became dotted with tiny beads of blood leading a wavy line up to his neck where Lanky’s second hand and cupped around the kids face pressing his cheeks in “Yes you are! Yes you aaaare!” He cooed “Don’t you get it; my dreams say we’ll be together forever! Along with the rest of our kind! All together in one piece! Doesn’t it sound lovely? We’ll be free! Completely, utterly and totally free!” That didn’t make sense his own mind hissed at him like bubbling static but he ignored it and pressed the child’s face in even more piercing his cheeks “When were all together there won’t be any more voices no incessant chattering inside! No … no… Agh it’s hard to think! Don’t you think?” He got a less-than-thrilled glare back prompting Lanky to make a long exaggerated gasp “Ooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh” he breathed out long and whiny “Yooooou like theeeeeeeeeem!” he threw his hands up letting the kids face go “You listen to the voices in your head! You’re mad you are!” Lanky swivelled his head around and spied a rock covered in an iron film slowly getting shinier and grabbed it “See! See! He’s going mad!” He yelled at it before holding it closer to himself “Oh I think we’re all going to die…” he whined to it. If he paid attention to his surroundings he would’ve heard the vile insults spat at him from the angry kid  
“Ooooooooooh Little enderlings near and far, Always wish upon the star, Not the white and not the blue, The purple will make your wish come true, The dragon king resides within, You can leave your wish with him, He’ll make it true, that’s for sure, He’ll make you wish for nothing more” He chanted to himself tossing his rocky friend up and down up and down with little care at all, he did not even flinch as another pearl whizzed past him accompanied by strands of stubborn flesh refusing to let go of the shiny orb, instead he merely regarded it with a giggle before waddling back up the slope “I’ll talk to you again soon friiiiieeeeeeeeeeend!” he ignored the insults slinging past him as he went back ‘upstairs’ and began humming the old nursery rhyme again to himself, he could use a wish, nay, a miracle right now. Just maybe something to give him just a little hope. Everything just seemed to be getting bleaker and bleaker in attempts to conserve energy the creature below him had just began letting bodies pile up and up. If only he could hear the frantic thoughts within it.

Something angry hissed at it. Something else that was also angry hissed at the first angry thing. A third angry thing growled and groaned. It was like an argument taking place inside its head; it made a low gurgle to interject between the voices but immediately was swamped by a loud ringing buzz that numbed its head. It didn’t like that. It didn’t like not being in control of things concerning itself. The little ‘project’ it had been lead into doing was losing power the bright turquoise blocks seemed to lose hope and subsequently power. How could an inanimate block lose hope? It seemed so stupid but like a stubborn dog the blocks just did not want to work. The angry voices worked up again hissing and babbling in tongues long forgotten by the worlds. It wondered why it bothered with them. It wondered why it bothered with anything really. Stiffness in its back told it it was time to move again and it slowly heaved itself up. It had noticed how its own body had become heavy and sore like layers upon layers had been added to itself but it felt normal on the inside. Normal if numb and cold counted as normal. It felt as though it needed to pull its feet forwards with its hands if it were to move at all, but the long strides its normally small legs were brought up to now swept it over the metal floor to the centre in a matter of moments. Here it surveyed the blocks, the voices calmed and became more tolerable, the closer it moved to the blocks the clearer they became and slowly they thought the same as it, or did they make it think that. It was not very sure. It was very unsure at its own being by this point. Yet the idea rang clear.  
If the pearls were not cooperating then gather enough of them to bring the power up high enough that it did not matter.


	33. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Extra long chapter as an apology for the delay!  
> Mostly caused by college and judging the results for the "Never Strikes Twice" contest!

It’s not that he wasn’t trying to help. He was, he really was. It’s just that tailing a dragon and a couple of Blazes had gotten a tiny bit… boring. It didn’t feel as though it was going to answer his question of why he suddenly found himself in a different world. So he stopped following the dragon, he had a lot of questions in his curious head and he had to find her. He knew that despite the increasing size and ugliness of these things on the ground she would be okay, He thought back over her wiry frame guiding a diamond sword along a clean cut path through a skeleton slicing it in half and shattering parts of its spine, her angry green eyes making it’s dead eye sockets flicker with a pang of regret as it realised too late it had picked on the wrong people. If anything, he thought, she’d be at the centre of it, surrounded by beasts and body parts slicing her way through them with the unbridled aggression that had made the name Nyssa well known in this area. He grinned to himself going over all the tiny little thoughts and habits he had learned and watched through his time with her. Maybe if he got his act together and found her now they’d go on an adventure to find the cause of this mystery. An adventure together.

It’s not that they needed help. More that they required it immediately. The Blaze really hadn’t taken well to being attacked and burned furiously leaving long trails of burning air behind them and showering burning ash and sparks down onto the ground they flew over. Henk had arched back awkwardly thumbing away at his quiver trying to grasp at the troublesome few arrows he had left, each evading his grasp entirely or being knocked further away by searching fingers. Creeps really couldn’t feel that one side of his face anymore and his back twinged as he bent forwards unceremoniously to grasp the reins in his mouth, for all the good it was doing them he might as well drop them. Their steed paid little heed to the taught leather and ventured in his own directions but at the same time being herded by their fiery pursuers whose constant stridulous gasps and groans chased them quicker than they could manage forcing them nowhere fast.  
“Jus’ what exactly is the plan ag’in?” Henks voice was muffled by the wind. In truth Creeps did not know nor could he accurately respond with anything of use as his mouth was filled with leather, something he was sure he should be joking about in better circumstances.

Now it was really getting odd, a tower of black glass-like stone… stuff loomed over him. It was not native to this realm or to the Nether. It even had something weird and glow-y on top of it but he didn’t want to investigate that, the presence of the obsidian tower just made him even more confused and deepened the furrows in his brow and gave his stomach a queasy shudder that he felt better left alone. Jess instead kept his eyes to the ground searching for any more clues to, well, anything. Strange new monsters, parts of the Nether seeping into the Overworld and still no connection between the two apart from the obvious idea that these monsters were causing the dimensions to wobble and merge together. Impossible, that idea was so obvious that it couldn’t be it, besides they seemed too dumb to cause problems between the dimensions they just ran about and attacked things or stole things, usually metals. Now why would they want those, maybe they powered the device causing the dimensional problems? No, Jess was sure he pondered this idea before but it still came back to him repeatedly. Or maybe it hadn’t he was getting so confused right now as if little pieces weren’t joined up correctly or he had missed something obvious and it was infuriating him, he didn’t want to try thinking about metals again right now and he crooned angrily at his own frustrations. Something wet knocking into his cheek thankfully distracted him from thinking too hard on the missing puzzle piece, relishing the new activity he spun to grab it squeezing brownish goop across his fingers as the vapid strip of flesh twitched in his grasp. Through the trees a yell and a grunt came before a small jet of dark blood spewed through a gap in the trees, the quarrelling figures were just masked by branches and leaves but it was a well welcomed sight and Jess leapt into the midst.  
It was not quite what he was expecting but then again with a new breed of walking corpse about there was room to expect stranger things. The human was rough with ill-fitting clothes torn and hanging loosely off his frame and a yellow hard hat on his head with a chunk of glowstone taped to it, the hat just barely covered a thick mat of wiry red hair spiralling out of control in all directions from his face forming a long arguably sooty beard. Frantically he waved a stone sword around, the only type the monsters would not tear from his digits but it was awfully ineffective and only merely knocked away long searching fingers as another monster lumbered at him on mangled limbs, what was left of the original Endermans head flopped uselessly under its maw. The man seemed unsure who to hit and jabbed out with his weapon at Jess  
“GET BACK!” He yelled “ALL OF YER!” Jess attempted to give him a comforting coo but was cut short as tendrils began to engulf his lower half drawing out a pained screech instead. The frantic human dove his sword through the mass of tendrils only just missing Jess’s thigh causing the writhing mass to split into two, half of them snaking their way up the blade the other half tightening around Jess.  
“No yer’ fuckin’ don’t!” He grunted and began jerking the sword back “This mi’ last blade, yer stole all me good’uns! Yer not taking this one!” the gelatinous main mass of the beast quivered as it struggled to pull between the two desperate to cling to both. Jess, forced into a metaphorical corner, coughed and wheezed summoning hot wisps of air at the back of his throat which slowly evolved into glowing sparks of fire behind bared teeth and hissed as he opened his mouth allowing the building flames to wash over clinging vines of flesh a surprising move inherited from his mother it seemed to catch most beings off guard. Yet this lumbering piece flesh of displayed no outward emotion as a part of its own body burnt and shrivelled breaking easily away from its ensnared prey, freeing them, but instead decided this meant the little flying one was more interesting. It lost all interest in the human and threw what appeared to be a bulbous arm in Jess’s direction catching him the shoulder and knocking him down.  
“Oi! Yer slimy bastard, jus’ gonna forget about me for another pissin’ monster!?” The man yelled driving his sword into the thickened dome of what could arguably have been it’s back and seared through two spinal disks bending the creature inwards at the centre. At this it howled and was forced to release Jess from its spindly claws, Jess was quick to move out the way of range from the flailing thing but was not yet free to thank his saviour, as responding to the cry more twisted towers of what used to be fellow Endermen hobbled in their direction. With a soft coo he grabbed onto the man’s shoulders and dragged him backwards  
“HEY! Ger’off me you beast!” He yelped attempting to raise his sword once more but the battered weapon posed little threat anymore. Continued pushing led Jess face first into the Earth as his new not-so-friendly human companion suddenly crashed to the ground and instead of pushing a complaining person forwards he followed through and went down himself. The ground was slick with a film of translucent ooze that appeared riddled with throbbing veins and indents characteristic of seemingly misshaped footprints, the strange substance coated a dirt pathway lined with bent over or snapped saplings, pushed out of the way, leading up to a small rock face whose only noticeable feature was a single small hole tucked away behind the hunched shape of another malformed Enderman who paid no attention to the people behind it as the man pushed himself up gingerly wiping off slime from his front and Jess floated mere inches off the ground shaking globules of muck from his body. Thin sinews of pose able flesh protruded from the mutants right hand side all of them circled back on its body and tensed up in short sharp bursts as it tugged away at its chest, eventually with a sound all too similar to that of tearing paper the thing managed to peel away a thin layer of dry skin from its chest and dropped it like a discarded tissue before resuming tugging at its chest only this time it pulled out Ender Pearls and dropped them carefully down the hole. It was a skin crawling sight. The smell didn’t help; it smelt as though the entire population of a pig sty died in this area a few months ago but even still the hunched figure seemed to captivate the both of them, Jess stared wordless but the human breathed out words of disbelief  
“I only wanted some payback for my house” he gasped “Not to fight through hordes of demons” Slowly the thing placed the last pearl down the hole and gurgled as if content, Jess turned hurriedly to the man and tugged his arm eager to pull him away but he growled at him and hurriedly shrugged him off waving his blunt weapon about, the action almost toppled him again and he yelped waving his arms about for balance. Jess let out a small startled squeal as surely this attracted the creature to them and gripped the man tighter  
“OH BLOODY ‘ELL!” He returned a squeal as his gaze went in the opposite direction to Jess and the monster as a wobbly dragon dropped down and smacked straight into Jess tearing him from the man’s arm but putting him back on his ass in the process. Bent over a scaled shoulder Jess feverishly gasped for lost air, bugging eyes stared directly at darker red eyes of a familiar Creeper even though half of his face was seared black.

Creeps managed a muffled spit of surprise as Cregg hit Jess as he fell. The dragon had hit its wing on tree branch trying to evade another flaming projectile and failed to keep airborne, Henk made yelps of shock as instead of hitting the ground the drake’s long limbs spread out in awkward positions as it slipped and slides along an oddly coloured pathway, Cregg whined desperately as his legs refused to move how he wanted and in a spray of congealed blood the monster Jess had been watching was squashed up against the rock face before it caved in under the force of the impact, sending them plummeting a short distance down onto a small slope.  
The dust took it’s time to settle and Creeps made the first sound as he ejected his lunch across the stone floor.   
“By Jeb…” Henk swore as he looked around the small dingy cave, nothing special, but there was a wall filled with nothing but furnaces and the rest of the walls had a shine to them, like metal, he grabbed Creeps and shook him gently trying not to be too forceful “Look look!” he repeated  
“Oooh ff-frick” Creeps groaned “You knocked him out” he muttered looking down at Jess who was actually dazed and struggled to focus his eyes to the change in light conditions.   
“No! Wait look again!” Henk yelled jamming an arm out “T—“.  
The next sentence was drowned out. A horrible bellow echoed around the chamber alternating in pitch as if two people were screaming in unison but one mistimed by a split-second. The noise made Cregg bolt upwards as if possessed, all of his muscles clenched in a tense primal desire to run and Creeps jaw hung loose even the blaze, which plummeted in after them, froze as if they had forgotten everything and needed a few minutes to fully take in the new situation. Emitting a low strained nervous whine himself Henk leaned over in his saddle and reached a bony hand out and wrapped it around a claw, the dust had covered him but the dirty blue scarf poking out gave away the limp unconscious figure sprawled across the edge of the ramp, legs dangling over the edge. His grip on the hand was tenuous and made worse as Cregg began to shake violently as loud thuds and rumbling foretold a bad fate if they did not leave soon. Twisting his hip further Henk grabbed onto Lanky’s hand tighter and began trying to pull him back, no easy feat on a saddle, the pleasant soft crunch of dust and gravel did nothing to ease his horror as something larger than any of the other mutants lashed out with a great paw curling around Lankys body unwilling to let it’s captive go. Seeing such great claws rise from seemingly nowhere prompted two reactions, Cregg finally lost it and doubled back on himself frantic claws scraping desperately at stone walls trying to escape but held back as Henk gripped on tight to Lanky unwilling to let go after such a turbulent flight, luck was on his side as the Blaze snapped back into reality. Cregg and his passengers almost completely forgotten the massive arm following up from behind the paw was a much more serious threat and they lunged forwards, bodies arching out into large fiery whirlwinds striking down the arm with an other-worldly wail. Snapping back away from the flames the giant arm released its captive flinging him into Henks face with a torrent of blood as its claws dragged down Lankys back tearing great purple gashes into the weakened body causing Henk to give silent thanks he was out of it, the pained screams would be too much for him to bear right now as he desperately clung to the quaking saddle, passenger under one arm dragon scales in the other.  
As Cregg soared into the air finalizing their escape Henk dragged Lanky over onto his lap and took up the reins  
“Finally” he sighed in relief and confusion at what just happened himself. Glancing back at Creeps he looked as if he was going to vomit again and Henk decided against saying anything to him.


	34. Freedom

Thin metal bars lay broken. The time to escape was now.  
Once a girl, now more draconic, embroiled in searing flames.  
The man quite lost and confused but alone now.  
V’tii gulped down the fresh ripe air sucking in as much as he can eager for its sweet taste after the horrid musky staleness of the underground world. Food as well, nothing but scraps were available down there but now, right now he was hungry enough to pounce straight on a pig and devour it there and then. Desperation did not make him stupid however. He had to find his home, his people, and his family. He needed to let them know what he saw, what he saw that foul thing doing in those pits. He knew he was right all along he knew they should’ve killed that thing when it was a baby, when it looked physically like a normal Enderman, he was hardly able to string a sentence together but he knew that thing so different from they should have died. It was for this reason, he thought, his tribe had kept themselves so pure, it kept away all the freaks. Besides as loyal, pure Endermen they’ll be able to ask for the highest of help in slaying this thing and he’ll enjoy watching it burn, he smirked and limped away.  
He was quite confused right now. Angry too, couldn’t forget angry, after all he had his house destroyed and resources stolen leaving him near-defenceless against these new mutants, but now the biscuit had really been taken. He’d been dragged along by some strange hovering thing and then almost crushed by a dragon which if anything seemed as though it was being piloted by a skeleton of all things. He was ready to put his fist through something’s skull. Searching through his inventory he knew what to do.  
Creeps babbled incoherently, blood loss and facial trauma had left him light headed but now he had warm purple blood seeping over his knees as Henk clutched onto the limp form of his best and closest friend. Most of the words he attempted to string out were garbled attempts at rousing the valetudinarian Enderman into a state of consciousness the rest of the words were illegible even to himself as he spoke them but were most likely worn out thanks or other, hopefully kind, words aimed at Henk who was more interested in flying back to the village both for help and probably to get back to his own dear friend. Most of the words were most likely drowned out by the wind and Henk himself  
“No no no! No! No! Noooo!” He had started yelling over a pained gasping screech and sprawled limbs as they were hardly airborne again before plummeting back down to the ground  
“For the love of Jeb!” Henk swore “Can’t anythin’ go right!?” He waved his cap angrily at the fading stars and moon as an orange glow heralded the sun peeking over the hill forcing the crumpled article of clothing back on his head to shield him from the burning rays, before he shrieked again “What is it NOW!?”  
“It’s me!” a gruff voice forced him to swing his legs off Cregg and confront a worn out ginger headed man with a lighted helmet and a bow and arrow in hand.  
“For the love a’ Jeb! Can’t ya’ see we got a’ injured guy here!” Henk snarled rather angry at the world at large “An’ now a’ injured dragon!” He looked back at Cregg who pawed wearily at his face, an arrow lodged in his cheekbone only just missing his eye  
“You better watch yer’ mouth dead man” The human spoke again “It ain’t you I’m after but you ain’t the type I’m fond of in any particular way other than the way my sword cracks yer’ bones!” This man was quite clearly tired and beaten as he swayed from side to side as he spoke barely able to keep himself awake and upright which made Henk still the only one there who was able to keep fully upright.  
“We dun’ knoh whu ye’ aaare” Creeps had collapsed over his friend using his back as a pillow to support himself while looking over at the human  
“Like hell!” The man swore “I saw you and ye’ freaky lil’ buddies after you finished wrecking my house! Burning it to the ground no less! I am a miner and I got t’ be self-sufficient, I built that home by myself using the last of my materials! I was out getting more the day you lot burnt it down! You wrecked my house and left me homeless again! I slept in a fucking ditch!” The man hissed  
“Oooooaaaaii yeh ‘dat place… feh once ‘dat wern’t me!” Creeps made a gasping laugh akin to a drunkard “We jus’ found it like ‘at”  
“Bullshit!” He snapped “It’s you and your type screwing over my independent living!” The man began to rant and rave, Henk didn’t even know his name or how long he had been following them around or just anyone around really  
“Listen mate, there’s a Nether Fortress type buildin’ aroun’ here an’ there’s a bunch of villagers and other survivors in there, go to them and ye’ can rest up a bit yeah?” The man didn’t seem to be listening and instead ranted on. He obviously had a lot of problems with the world at large and was finally venting them all out. A little unsure of how to handle the situation Henk pulled out his last three arrows and aimed the first at the ground, he allowed himself a small grin as a satisfying ‘thwunk’ rang out as it pierced the ground at the man’s feet causing him to yell out and leap back, aiming up a second one this arrow shot so close the feather-tipped end brushed against his trouser leg and the man, not wanting to risk a shot to the knee or anything, fled. Satisfied Henk examined the arrows to see if one or both were salvageable, only one was. Two arrows were better than none he sighed to himself glancing up a flicker of confusion flashed across his eye sockets as a barbed tail slunk away around a hill in the opposite direction.  
A cracking noise was followed by a deep gurgle and puff of ash and smoke as a third Blaze had its skull crushed by thick metal imbued claws. Someone had found its lair and attacked. That meant that people were aware of it leading the hordes of Pearlless freaks in their attack, obviously it meant that the beings of this realm had wised up to it and needed to be exterminated. All of them. Previously it had plans on leaving a good portion of the populations alive; they would make fun play things just like the one they were residing in now, only killing the ones who fought back. Now they were all classed as dangerous and all of them could be a potential threat to be wiped clean. They had also lost both their captives. The one was used to keep some form of control over the body; the other was their ‘worker drone’ fetching their materials in exchange for his continued existence. Without the young one the body would rebel, deep instinctual urges and desires for revenge had kept it satisfied and now it would rebel and try to force them out of its body. Well not an it, a HER, they still had to get used to this ‘gender’ thing. If they were going to keep this body they needed to appeal to other desires to keep it under control, see it was already rebelling against them, against their control! This was unacceptable one attack and they risked losing their proxy in this realm! Either way it was clear what must happen. They must step up their invasion to an all-out extermination.

He was watching the entire thing having been left behind in the panic Jess had to dive behind a furnace to hide from the monster and the fighting. With the Blaze dead he managed to get a good look at the monster, taller than a normal adult Enderman it had milky skin pulled taught over thickened muscles, patches of skin had torn revealing slithers of Iron poking out like jagged spikes, its digigrade legs were bare revealing a large distinctive scar over its right thigh looking like an area of skin was missing. It looked round for something to attack or maul but instead found thin metal bars twisted and broken on the ground, it made an angry howl before furrowing its brow, like it was slowly wondering where it was or as if it had just heard something odd. Slowly and tentatively it reached up and touched its chest, gently stroking a fleshy lump and murmuring in confusion. Jess squinted unable to see this lump properly, continued fondling pulled away at thinner layers of skin and flesh revealing a pale blue glimmer from something embedded in it causing the swollen flesh to be impregnated with a deep crimson hue of sore itchy skin. It certainly was a monster, but it didn’t seem to be all that vicious, more in pain?

He had now curled up in a ball; he was a coward and not afraid to admit it. Kenzo had always hidden away from confrontation and anger, his ‘mother’ had always told him it was best to keep away from things rather than investigate and die. That advice never helped her when the large feral wolf bore down with furious hunger gleaming in her eyes. Backed into a corner she was as limp as a puppet and fur matted a bright scarlet, whereas he, the largest and the oldest had only cuts and bruises from when he stood in front of it. He never got the courage to face it again and that led his mother to death. It was also why he was probably more eager than he should’ve been to leave the jungle and his adoptive family, leave the guilty cowardice behind. Didn’t work, he still felt like he betrayed her, the sight of blood and entrails always made him think of her and now there were more blood and entrails than he had ever seen about the place. In the lower decks of the Nether Fortress he tried to regain his calm. Such a dingy dark room, only illuminated by a single fire in the far corner and a few thin shafts of light from the upper levels leaking in through cracks. The fire crackled in one corner and cast eerie shadows over the other corner opposite Kenzo which was also occupied. Tall with blackened charred bones it was a ‘Wither Skeleton’ so named for this apparent ‘Wither’ curse they had and could temporarily afflict you with. It didn’t speak and didn’t move, just stood there with hollow eyes seeing nothing yet examining all. The only sign of life from the animated bone heap was when it occasionally tightened its grip around its sword before letting go like it remembered something but then forgot. It didn’t bother Kenzo, heck he hardly even noticed it for the first few minutes but with his current mood he gave it a glance of contempt and continued ignoring it. He felt so puerile hiding in the dark, but for the life of him he couldn’t go back and face those things. Recently they had started fighting with more vigour as if they didn’t just want to steal supplies and kill Endermen, it was like they had finally decided enough was enough and wanted a complete extermination of everything in their way. Those wobbling masses of flesh with their excrescence parts flailing madly as if reaching out for a purpose on the body. A majority of the people above were just scared of them but they seemed to have a much deeper effect on the Endermen, he was unsure whether it was just the fact that these creatures were essentially the same species even if radically different or their horrible hollowed out chests and eyes vibrant with a non-existent life or maybe the Endermen were not used to seeing zombified people of their own kind like the Humans and Testificates were. The Wither skeleton had slowly advanced on him during these thoughts as if it had only just noticed him and wanted to investigate, its limbs made dusty creaks as they dragged themselves forwards but its spine made several popping cracks as it attempted to lean over and look at Kenzo closer.  
“The… supplies…” it gently wheezed as a torrent of dust spilled from its tilted jaw and pointed a crooked finger down the passageway leading out of the tiny room. Kenzo could almost physically feel his pupils dilate at the sudden shock of this thing pushing its face so close to his, a quiet shock that pushed him stiffly to his feet and allowed him a shaky nod before darting away down the hall. The lower sections had also played host to a variety of supplies as the Netherbricks were surprisingly good at insulating the Lava surrounding these lower rooms, but of course the supplies were not put right next to the walls anyway, just in case. Not to mention if the higher levels were breached and the survivors needed to back down further they would not be cut off from food and clean water. Even one or two livestock had been brought down here after being lured in from outside with tasty treats. One of them may have escaped it seemed as a trail of dirt was strewn across the ground in a thin wobbly line but it did indeed lead to a room filled with supply crates. Curious as to what that creepy Wither Skeleton was on about - the same creepy fellow that watched him from the doorway of the room he had just left, he pressed himself to the warm walls and carefully side-stepped up to the room. Whoever had left the dirt trail was audibly rummaging through the supplies grunting as if the effort of opening each chest was equivalent to lifting a couple Iron blocks, must be injured, Kenzo hardly moved, it couldn’t be an intruder. Down here? Impossible they would’ve had to sneak past everyone upstairs and that would not be an easy feat, he tried mulling over other ideas as to why the Skeleton had alerted him to this, maybe it just wanted him to go mope somewhere else. He thought these options through to a point where his glazed eyes lazily followed the being responsible for the noise with little interest until he finally snapped out of his thoughts enough to register that this being was new here.  
He looked like he'd fit in here, thin and worn he was tired battered, bruised and limped heavily on his right side but kept a death-like grip on an armful of food he had acquired from the chests.  
“You’re new here do you evens have permission for those?” he inquired, all new refugees were not allowed access to supplies, they were to be handed out in rations to preserve food stocks. The new guy went rigid, betraying any chance he may have had of playing innocent, a slow twist of the head and he glanced back with misty green eyes which narrowed down at Kenzo, most clearly a young Enderman the new guy simply gripped the food tighter and bolted down the hallway with his ill-gotten gains. Growling to himself Kenzo had no choice but to pursue, it was the least he could do after spending so long down her by himself. The thief was not hard to catch up to weak and hungry he could barely keep up a sprint and Kenzo was quickly behind him, tightening thin limbs the thief suddenly dropped down and rolled to the side, forcing Kenzo onto his backside in an attempt to stop. A few blocks above the lava this thief had built a small dirt bridge to get to the lower levels of the fortress before removing a few bricks to get in, sneaky and it got him past any suspicious eyes. Kenzo worried over the bridge’s thin unsteady state as he ended up pressing himself to it, arms wrapped around each side for extra security as he shimmied along. He shouldn’t be doing this, it was too dangerous, but they couldn’t really afford to let this thief take their supplies, nobody had a clue how long this invasion would last every scrap of food was important. The bridge connected to the wall of the lava pit and went up a slope – no doubt carved out by this thief to get down easier, it was a steep slope and the dull bubbling and prickling heat from below was a constant reminder of the painful fate that awaited him if he fell. Notch damn he regretted this decision immediately. Kenzo remained at the far end of the bridge, close to the dodgy looking slope but too far from the fortress to slide back. Maybe if he got up the slop he could run back to the entrance, claim he set up another trap! Who cared about a few scraps of food anyway? Not him, oh no, it wasn’t worth crawling over a lava-pit for! By now he couldn’t tell if it was his own fear or the heat from the lava pricking out small tears from the corners of his eyes. Tentatively he pushed forwards a little more, increasingly aware of how each push scraped away more layers of dirt thinning the bridge out even more and how his muscles tensed tighter and tighter. Oh holy balls did he regret this decision! Close to the slope there was a root jutting out from the dirt and Kenzo tried to reach for it, tried most definitely being the keyword. His claws did not respond to him and stayed clamped firmly to the bridge scraping off more layers of dirt as they slid forwards instead of letting go. A tiny whimper was all Kenzo could muster. Pushing himself even closer to the slope he tried again this time he got the root. It was firmly in the ground and long enough for him to get both hands around it, the feel of this root in his palms sent a cool joyful wave of relief washing over him and shook him with glee, arching his back up Kenzo gratefully grabbed the root in both hands and brought his paws up to the slope a few flicks of the tail and he had himself balanced. The root was helped with stability as a smooth rock kept it still and helped Kenzo up a few meters, sure he was used to climbing trees but this will be something he shall endeavour not to do again. Looking up the steep slope he still had a way to go before reaching the thief at the top. Kenzo paused. The thief hadn’t left, he could still see those misty eyes watching him from the top of the slope with frustration they darted back and a foot briefly became visible as an angry glare was quickly clouded out by dust and gravel. Mentally swearing at himself Kenzo grabbed the root tightly in one hand and pushed himself up into a semi-standing position against the slope and covered his eyes with his over hand allowing the fine dust to wash over his face. This was then the moment where the root gave way. The rock beneath it was not lodged in tight enough and the sudden pull of extra body weight from Kenzo dislodged it and it rolled away down the slope to the incinerating pool of lava and the root extended out another foot becoming slack in Kenzo’s hand and dirt became air beneath his paws as he was suddenly heading downwards fast. The last inches of the root escaped Kenzo’s grasping claws, and the bridge was no longer there to break his doomed fall, the rock smashed it upon its descent. A simple trap truly meant to prevent anyone from following him. The heat from the lava became hotter and hotter and the tips of Kenzo’s fur began to sizzle and smell. Why did he even leave that room? He wouldn’t be falling to his death in that room. If he wasn’t in there in the first place he never would have been alerted to the thief, he shouldn’t have been there but he was too cowardly to stay up top. Too cowardly to argue back or ignore the skeleton and too cowardly to tackle the thief before he escaped. The only time he ignored his cowardice to crawl across the bridge had led him here. Stupid, stupid, stupid coward. He couldn’t even bring himself to scream as he plummet towards the searing heat below him. How pathetic. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time since I updated huh? Sorry for that but each chapter will hopefully be longer from now on :)


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